


We Are All We Are

by Takara_Phoenix



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU of Season 3, Anal, Derek is a Good Alpha, Emotionally Constipated Derek, Erica and Boyd live, Everybody Loves Danny, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Gerard is DEAD, Isaac is a mommy's pup, Jackson Never Left, M/M, Mates, Mates are Anchors, Mating Bond, No Puppies Die, No True Alpha Scott, PackMom!Stiles, Peter is just a grumpy puppy, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Shounen-ai, Slash, The Sheriff is suspicious, There will be sex later on like much later on, Werewolf Danny Mahealani, and so does Allison, but for now it's mainly fluff and pack-feels, but he needs Stiles' help, derek thinks he can't have nice things, good!Ethan and Aiden (well later on anyway), pack!feels, sterek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-27
Updated: 2015-05-27
Packaged: 2018-02-06 10:45:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 66,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1855213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takara_Phoenix/pseuds/Takara_Phoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Picks up after Season 2, to fill what should have happened pack-dynamic-wise during the four months gap.<br/>Adding wolf!Danny to the equation, as Isaac's mate. Packmom!Stiles is in the middle of bringing the pack and the hunters and the for now Omega!Scott back together, but then Season 3 hits them square in the face and forces them to act a little faster.<br/>The twins go after Allison and Stiles instead of Lydia and Danny though. Scott has to find his way back to his mate Allison, Stiles has to deal with being in love with a sourwolf. They have to save Erica and Boyd from the Alphas and have to deal with the sudden appearance of supposedly dead Cora Hale. And of course there's also the Darach making everything ridiculously complicated. Can't Stiles just get a break for once?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Bedtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Stiles finds Isaac in his bed and can't quite figure out what is going on.

Title: We Are All We Are – Defining Pack

Fandom: Teen Wolf

TW Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Jeff Davis and MTV. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, mating/mates, explicit intercourse, anal, fluff, h/c, pack!feels, packmom!Stiles, blood, fighting, AU of season 3, death (NO puppies), hetero

Main Pairing: Sterek

Side Pairings: Scott/Allison, Boyd/Erica, Danny/Isaac, Jackson/Lydia, Peter/Chris, John/Melissa, Ennis/Kali, Aiden/Cora, Aiden/Allison & Ethan/Stiles (for jealousy)

Teen Wolf Characters: 'Stiles' Stilinski, Derek Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Milton Boyd IV, Isaac Lahey, Danny Mahealani, Lydia Martin, Jackson Whittemore, Scott McCall, Allison Argent, Cora Hale, Malia Hale, Kira Yukimura, Ethan, Aiden, Chris Argent, Peter Hale, Alan Deaton, John Stilinski, Melissa McCall, Rafael McCall, Noshiko Yukimura, Mister Yukimura, Bobby Finstock, Adrian Harris, Marin Morrell, Jennifer Blake, Deucalion, Kali, Ennis

Summary: Post season 2 – the four skipped months. Season 3 needs more pack!feels, not just the 'a member of the pack died'-pack!feels. It'll be a slow-built 'fixing season 3' piece, twisting season 3 to my will. Including packmom!Stiles, Sterek, Jackson, Erica, Boyd, Scallison and no dead packmates.

After everything with Gerard, Stiles wonders where his place in the pack is. Or rather, to which pack he belongs and what is going on in general. New faces and the threat of an Alpha pack are really not helping him there. So now he's stuck – once again – rescuing a bunch of stubborn werewolves while trying to deal with his own feelings, not just romantically but also friendship-wise, because he really needs to help Scott sorting things out.

 

_ **We Are All We Are**   
Defining Pack _

 

Prologue: Bedtime

  
Stiles groaned and popped his neck, stretching slowly. Stiffening a yawn, he rubbed his eyes. Hazel orbs moved to look at the painfully bright desktop of his laptop. The clock seemed to be mocking him with her blinking numbers and Stiles cursed slightly.

“You should go to bed, Stiles. It's getting late”, whined a soft voice from behind him.

The human teen should actually be startled, give a yelp and jump in surprise when someone else was suddenly, in the middle of the night, in his room. But sadly, he was not the least bit surprised. What was that saying about him and his very weird life...? Yawning again, Stiles turned around on his chair to stare at the very comfortable looking blonde werewolf sprawled on his bed. Okay, that was at least partly new. What was Scott's new best friend doing at Stiles'? The only people who had so far been sneaking into his bedroom were Scott himself, Derek, better kown as the master creeper, and Lydia on one occasion (that had been so far from every scenario he had ever pictured in his head as possible). But Derek's first pup? That was new.

“Hey, Isaac”, frowned Stiles and folded his arms on the backrest of the chair to rest his chin on them. “Shouldn't you be curled together at Derek's feet? Or stalking Scott? Or... anything? As in, anything involving not being sprawled all over my bed like you own it?”

Isaac blushed at that and turned his head to look out the window. Served him right for coming here and ordering Stiles around, feeling embarrassed about it was really the least he could do. Even though leaving would be actually even better, because that way, Stiles could actually go to bed now. Still, the human shut his laptop and got up to walk over to his bed. Stiles stretched once more before collapsing on the bed next to the werewolf. Isaac gave a content rumble – Stiles would call it a purr, but any of the werewolves would glare and growl at him for calling it that – and snuggled up to Stiles, much to the boy's surprise. A reluctant, fond smile slowly spread over his lips after a little while even though he tried to fight it and then without his consent did his hand nestle in the blonde hair. Stupid, betraying body. Isaac though seemed very content with this and wrapped his arms around Stiles' waist to pull him close. Stiles yawned again and cuddled closer to the warm body next to him, resting his head on the other's chest, listening to the purring/rumbling, content with just that and the silence of the bedroom.

He still frowned though. This shouldn't happen. He shouldn't be cuddling with the enemy. Well, enemy may have been a stretch there, but they were certainly not friends either. So why was Isaac in his bed...? Still, he couldn't find it in himself to throw the blonde out, not just because of Isaac's past – Stiles would be the last one to hand out free pity because he knew how disgusting pity could feel – and only mildly because of the adorable puppy look Isaac could pull off, but he mainly was okay with this because he himself needed it at the moment. Like, his body demanded exactly this.

Everything had fallen apart in the last three days.

It had started small, right after Gerard's demise. Everything was torn apart, the pack was torn apart. Derek had Peter and Isaac, with Erica and Boyd still missing. Whatever may now be Jackson's deal, Stiles had no idea. If he was going to stick with Derek, his sire, or if he chose to stick with Scott, who had been defined as the Alpha of Stiles, Jackson, Lydia and Allison by Derek before, Stiles couldn't know. As far as he knew, Jackson may as well be an Omega now.

How should he, really?

What Scott had done had most likely destroyed any trust that had been between Scott and Derek. But it had also scratched on the trust between Scott and Stiles, which had lead to Stiles shying away from his best friend, feeling betrayed and alone. Since Stiles and Scott were a package deal however and since Scott had deliberately worked against Derek and made, once again, 'clear' that Derek wasn't his Alpha, that had Stiles out of the pack too. He had only been the token human that went with Scott anyway. And after that betrayal, why should Derek want either of them around...? For now, Stiles was all alone. Because he wasn't part of Derek's pack and he wasn't feeling like being part of Scott's 'pack' either, if he still had one.

There was the matter of Allison, which made Stiles want to hang out with Scott as much as it made him want to not hang out with the teen wolf. For one, Scott was his bro, his best friend and brother by anything but blood and he knew Scott was hurting over the break up so he wanted to comfort him. But on the other hand, Stiles had been beaten to a bloody pulp by Allison's grandfather, who had also tortured Boyd and Erica after Allison had shot both of them. For now, he wasn't quite Team Allison. He still couldn't help himself but appreciate that Chris had helped bringing Gerard down and had even offered the solution to 'what to do with dead gramps and his black blood?', as they had finally found the half-dead hunter, by offering his house to be burned down with the body inside. Understandable so, after all the loss Chris had endured since moving in there. As far as Stiles knew, Chris and Allison were staying at a small motel for now. Then there were Lydia and Jackson, who certainly were sticking together, but the question was where Jackson's loyalty was laying.

So now Stiles was left all alone, not part of any pack that may exist in Beacon Hills, but still licking his own wounds after what had happened to him and too busy feeling guilty for constantly lying to his father to actually care all that much.

He wanted to dwell some more in that pain and self-pity, but with Isaac curled around him like that, he felt as safe as he hadn't in months and soon drifted off into a peaceful, if not kind of disturbing and confusing, slumber.


	2. Choosing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Stiles in fact still is part of the Hale Pack, if he wants to, which he obviously has because someone has to keep the Sourwolf from turning more teenagers into werewolfs... Danny, really?!

Chapter 1: Choosing

 

The next morning came and Stiles had to briefly wonder if maybe everything had been a dream. No sign of Isaac, nothing. But still somehow the Sheriff's son knew that it had happened. Which was bothersome. He sighed and stretched some. Time to get back to school. The first day of school since everything went downhill. His dad had allowed him to stay home on Friday, seeing as getting beaten up by 'the opposing team' the day before had worried John enough to allow it. Stiles had spend the whole weekend holed up in his room, not leaving, ignoring all of Scott's phone calls.

“Stiles? Are you up yet?” It was untypical for his dad to sound so unsure. “You know, if you're not feeling up to it, you could always stay in bed... I'd call the school...”

The offer was too tempting. Just staying in the safety of his room one more day. But it wouldn't suffice. After last night, he needed to know what was going on with the local werewolves. And the best source of information for him was at the moment the school. To see who would show up, who would socialize with whom and who would be shunned. Though he already knew who would fill in on the third category. Bing, bing, bing! He. If he would have to make a guess, Jackson and Lydia would most likely stick with Allison, seeing as Lydia was the faithful best friend and Jackson was now literally the obedient puppy following the strawberry blonde. And Isaac would be with Scott. That was most likely also the reason why Isaac had been there last night, because Stiles had dodged Scott and the boy had most likely worked his puppy eyes to persuade Isaac into checking on Stiles.

“No, I'm fine, dad”, called Stiles back and sat up to get dressed.

Much to his surprise, those words true were. He felt better, both physically and mentally. Frowning a little confused at that, he picked a Deadpool shirt, a Bordeaux plaid shirt and his favorite red hoodie, together with black jeans to get dressed. He took his time in the bath, so long until he could hear his father leaving for work. It wasn't just his friends he was avoiding, to some extends it was... everyone. Being with his father was torture because he felt as if every word leaving his lips was a lie and was slowly destroying his relationship with his only parent. Skipping more steps than he was actually taking, he ran past the kitchen. He could probably count what he had eaten in the past week on one hand. Somehow, fighting his psychopathic principle had left him with little to no hunger. Huffing slightly, he got inside his Jeep and headed off toward school.

 

/break\

 

Okay, so. School had never been more awkward before. He stalled in his Jeep as long as possible, until he nearly came too late for chemistry. But that was fine, he had been able to avoid awkward conversations at the lockers. Skittering into the classroom left him stumbling in surprise. Allison was sitting all the way on the left in the front, while Scott sat on the farthest right. Jackson and Lydia were next to each other, just how he had pictured them to be. Now that their epic love had broken the kanima curse and reunited them again. Though what did come as a surprise were the people opposite them. Opposite Jackson sat Isaac – who Stiles would have thought would be sitting next to Scott – and opposite Lydia sat Danny – even though Stiles would have expected Allison to sit there. Great, now where was Stiles supposed to go? Close to Allison was a no-go, Scott wasn't his first choice at the moment either and the way it looked, Jackson had chosen Derek if his association with Isaac was any indication for that. So the back-row was out of question too. Which also took away his chance at maybe being close to Lydia (on a purely friendly level, really, because seriously, even he wasn't dense enough to think he had any chance to compare with a curse-breaking love like theirs). Just awesome.

“Stilinski, move your ass over here.”

Okay, that one was unexpected. Blinking a couple of times, he stared at the gruff looking blonde. That was the wrong co-captain of the lacrosse team he would have expected to beckon him over. And looking at Jackson, nothing in the jock's facial expression gave away that he even really wanted Stiles there. Though then he received three kicks against his legs and grunted annoyed, his expression changing to one that was slightly less douchebag and a little more welcoming. It was Lydia in the end, giving Stiles a blinding smile and waving at him.

“Come here, Stiles.”

Stiles was still busy staring at them suspiciously. He was just about to open his mouth and point out that there wasn't any room for him anyway, but Danny beat him to the punch and pulled a chair away from another table and onto the side between himself and Lydia. Stiles frowned some more. He knew for a fact that he annoyed the hell out of Danny.

“Stiles”, stated Isaac, really more a whine though.

Something tugged on his inside and he couldn't fight the urge to walk over to them slowly to take the offered seat. He didn't miss the betrayed expression on Scott's face, but he did a pretty good job ignoring it. The same he did with the nuzzling motion Isaac made toward him while passing. And with how even Danny tried to nuzzle him. Stiles was pretty sure that he had never felt more awkward in his whole life than sitting there, between Danny and Lydia, together with Isaac and Jackson freaking Whittemore. And all four of them were staring at him with different levels of content, glee and joy. Of course something had to ruin the calm moment, interrupting his train of thoughts. For once, that something was not Mister Harris giving him detention (even though he did look like he really wanted to do that), it was the golden flash of Danny's eyes. It would have been nice to say that he didn't yelp like a little girl and flail around, but... he did. Totally.

“Jesus, Danny!”, exclaimed Stiles wide-eyed before glaring at Isaac and Jackson accusingly.

“It wasn't us”, huffed Jackson and rolled his eyes irritated.

“You need to come with us to the train depot”, yelped Isaac, sounding oddly happy.

“I've had plans to annoy the Sourwolf anyway!”, groaned Stiles, waving his arms around aimlessly, glaring from one to the other. “B—But now I have a more than valid reason to do so! _Danny_!”

“Stop saying my name like that”, snorted Danny amused, showing a little canine.

Suddenly, Stiles was glad that he hadn't taken his Adderall in the past three days. Letting his mind wander for the rest of the school day sounded like a perfect way to escape any sudden conversations and awkward situations. Or, well, it was making them even more awkward, but his mind only stayed focused on it for about half a second before wondering about the paint on the walls. It was also very helpful when it came to ignoring the odd looks he was receiving from everyone. And he meant literally everyone. Most had witnessed how he had disappeared during the game, then he had been missing and now he was covered in bruises. The worst however were Jackson, Lydia, Isaac and Danny. It was as if the three werewolves and the girl were his personal bodyguard squad, they weren't leaving his side even for a single minute the whole day. At least one of them stayed in constant proximity. The longer the day lasted, the more he got the impression that they were trying to keep him away from Scott. Not that he spend much time dwelling on that thought, because hey – was that a butterfly? His mind was racing with thoughts.

“We'll see you three at the warehouse”, waved Lydia at the end of the day as she climbed into Jackson's Porsche. “Bye, bye.”

Stiles waved absentmindedly at them, still wondering when he had drifted off into Strangeland. Climbing into his beloved Jeep, he noticed the two other werewolves getting into the back. He didn't even question it, actually. The two probably needed a lift to the warehouse and just got dumped by the Jackson&Lydia Show. Because really, his life sucked like that.

The drive over to the train depot was awkwardly silent. Mostly so because Stiles really had a hard time concentrating on driving at the moment. His brain started to hurt from how hard he was trying, actually. And still it got sidetracked enough to notice how Isaac was nuzzling Danny's neck and the older boy was fondling the blonde's neck.

“You two... seem awfully cozy”, commented Stiles once they arrived at their destination, glad his brain could run wild again. “I mean, I'm not questioning or judging. And I'm also not getting into this whole Danny-is-a-werewolf-thing because that is a box opened in the presence of your wonderfully sour big, bad Alpha, yes? But yeah, you two?”

“Mates.” Isaac's voice was practically a purr.

“Aha”, nodded Stiles and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

“Really?”, snorted Jackson arrogantly as the couple joined them on their way inside. “Just that. No freak out a la Stiles 'Oh my gosh, that's a thing? Like seriously?'.”

The human boy would have been offended by Jackson's douchebag behavior if the captain's impression of Stiles wouldn't have been so incredibly funny. The flailing of limbs and the dumbstruck expression on his face were so out of place and had Stiles wonder just for a split second – did he look as adorably odd? The sheriff's son laughed loudly at it, earning him some strange looks from the four other teens, which made him shrug leisurely.

“What? After Scott got turned? I did the researches. Ever since there are even more wolves in Beacon Hills? I did even more researches. Believe me, I know more about werewolves than the four of you put together”, snorted Stiles and shook his head. “Besides, if Allison wasn't Scott's mate, I would have cut his balls off for all the crap he put me through because of her. And Jackson and Lydia over there? Yeah, it needed something as strong as a mate-bond to break the kanima curse.”

“You never cease to surprise me, Stiles”, drawled a curious voice as they entered.

Stiles shuddered slightly and frowned over at Peter, who stood leisurely against an empty train. “And you never cease to creep me out, Peter. Where is the big, bad Alpha?”

“Stiles”, growled a to him well-known voice.

Stiles grinned broadly. He knew this growling, it was the relieved kind and not the angry kind. It always amazed him that he could actually detect the different shades of growling and eyebrow-wiggling. That really said something about how much time he had spend with Derek since this whole mess got started. The Alpha walked over to lean against the wall opposite his uncle.

“Derek! Always a pleasure to enjoy your cheerful self”, grinned Stiles with a short wave. “We have so much to discuss! Like, how is Danny a werewolf now? Why was your pup sleeping in my bed last night? And where are Boyd and Erica? Just to, you know, give you some examples. Feel free to answer whatever question you want to. Anytime now. Like, right now.”

Derek gave him one of those 'Don't be an idiot, Stiles' frowns. “Jackson and Isaac had said that you hadn't been in school on Friday. When no one had heard anything from you until Sunday, I send Isaac to check on you and see if you've gotten yourself killed, Stiles.”

“O... okay?”, nodded Stiles, only slightly confused by that reply.

Not wanting to investigate that closer – because it sounded like Derek cared, like maybe he was still pack, but that was ridiculous and don't get your hopes up, Stiles, you're here for a reason! – he gestured vaguely toward Danny and gave Derek his best disapproving glare.

“Without Scott, Boyd and Erica, the pack is down to four wolves”, growled Derek, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “And with the threat of the Alpha pack, we can use the strength of another wolf, for the fight and for the strength of the pack bond.”

“Besides, really”, snorted Danny and crossed his arms over his chest. “I'm not stupid. I noticed how seriously odd my two best friends were behaving – with their weird break-up, suddenly associating with people Jackson would have never looked at twice before, the whole filming-himself-thing that really kind of had me worried there, the changes of Boyd, Erica and Isaac in general. And then suddenly Jackson dies and comes back without as much as a scratch or anything.”

“Danny had been very... persistent at school on Friday, so we took him to Derek on Saturday and explained everything to him”, interrupted Lydia while getting comfortable on the couch. “He was eager to help and to not be left out. A feeling I can very much relate to. And then he took the bite.”

“And then he took the bite? Really?”, groaned Stiles exhausted and ran his hands over his head. “You and your stupid life choi—Wait, what did you mean _without Scott, Boyd and Erica_? Where are Boyd and Erica? Why weren't they at school? Why aren't they here?”

“Stiles...”, started Derek and hey – what was _that_ frown supposed to mean?

“They left the pack, don't you know that?”, asked Isaac, cocking his head like a confused pup. “Before the big showdown with Gerard.”

“Yeah, well, but they wanted to come back”, huffed Stiles, now frowning himself.

“What do you mean?”, growled Derek, his own frown deepening.

“When I saw them in the Argents' basement we talked, well when Gerard wasn't all that busy beating us up anyway, and I'm not sure if it was the electricity running through her body, but Erica was crying and sobbing and apologizing for leaving and begging that she'd come back-”

“Hold on, when were you in the Argents' basement? What are you talking about, Stiles?”, asked Lydia, one eyebrow raised, her arms crossed over her chest.

“What? All this?”, muttered Stiles, exhausted by this conversation, gesturing to his black eye and bruised face. “Let's say I didn't fall down the stairs, yeah?”

And hello again, wall! Stiles groaned as his back connected with the concrete once again, though not as hard as he was used to by now. There was very much angry Alpha all in his personal space, his eyes flickering a very deep red for a moment. Not that he got to see it for long, because then, suddenly, Derek had his nose buried in Stiles' neck, inhaling deep, rubbing it against Stiles' skin, the stubbles on the Alpha's face scratching him. This was not the least bit awkward or weird, no sir. Looking helplessly around, he hoped one of the Betas would interfere, but somehow they were all very preoccupied with watching the floor. Damn traitors.

“Uh... Okay...? Personal space? Just a bit? Yes? No? Okay”, stammered the teen nervously.

Because yeah, he had by now noticed that all those ripping-your-throat-out-with-my-teeth speeches were more barking than actual biting. But that didn't mean he was all that comfortable having a werewolf at his pulse point. Especially one as temperamental as Derek Sourwolf Hale. But all he got in return was a deep and dark growling.

“Gerard did this?”, growled Derek angered.

“Well, yeah...”, shrugged Stiles still confused. “Back to that whole personal space thing?”

“No”, growled the Alpha back and okay, so no personal space for Stiles, he could live with that, maybe. “You're pack and I— _we_ weren't there to protect you.”

Okay, that piece of information had really come without any warning. Stiles was so stuck on the surprise declaration of him being pack that he nearly missed what Lydia was saying.

“Stop looking so surprised. He's scent marking you, Stiles. You haven't been around the... 'den' and the rest of the pack in a while and he just learned that you got injured by the enemy. Though den may be a bit of a stretch. This... place really needs a make-over”, hummed the strawberry-blonde, curling her hair around one finger and looking around with a disapproving glare.

“I—I'm pack?”, mumbled Stiles softly, stunned.

That must have been the wrong thing to say, because he received an exaggerated sigh from Lydia, three pitiful whines from Danny, Isaac and Jackson (though the latter looked more surprised and disturbed by it than Stiles probably) and a deep, dark growl from Derek. Note to self: Don't anger the Alpha wolf who is currently sniffing one of your most vital points.

“Why do you ask that question, Stiles?”, drawled Peter curiously and amused.

Right, Uncle Creeper was still there too. Somehow that very touchy-feely Alpha had distracted him a bit. Stiles blinked a couple of times as Derek suddenly backed off again and hey – didn't that look even more threatening? The younger Hale stood there, with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Stiles as if he had personally offended Derek with that question, Jackson and Lydia on one side of him and Danny and Isaac on his other. It kind of looked like they were ganging up on him because he had done something incredibly stupid. Had he done something incredibly stupid? Not as far as he recalled, but then again, he also didn't recall being part of the Hale Pack.

“I just—I mean, come on. The only reason you tolerated me around was because you wanted Scott in your pack. But after that stunt he pulled with Gerard – he said it himself, once again, because seriously, how often does he plan on jumping onto the pack wagon just to jump off again?”, huffed Stiles, trying to sort his thoughts. “I figured, at least for the next time, you most likely don't want to see either of us. Or, well, I wouldn't, if I were you.”

“Is that why you were avoiding Scott today?”, asked Danny with tilted head.

The rest of the Betas stared at the hacker curiously before turning their full attention on Stiles and that was really the last thing he wanted at this moment. Their eyes were practically piercing him.

“Well, let's just say that for all the shenanigans we pulled together, this was the first time he ever... excluded me”, shrugged Stiles with downcast eyes, trying to hide in his hoodie. “It was... not okay. And I don't plan on forgiving him just like that...”

Not that he planned on never forgiving him, because really, it was Scott and they would always be brothers, but the teen wolf so deserved a little punishment for working all alone and excluding Stiles form his all destroying plans.

“He betrayed you just like he betrayed the rest of us”, grunted Derek with gritted teeth. “He declared himself not part of my pack, but the two of you are separate individuals, as much as both of you manage to make everyone doubt that sometimes. He can't speak for you. You are pack. If you still want to be...” There was a flicker of something akin to frustration or hopelessness or shame, Stiles wasn't quite sure how to read it, in those hazel green eyes. “Even though it seems to be a trend these days to leave the pack... So it would be understandable for you to leave too and to join Scott, or keep out of this whole mess and live a normal teenage life.”

Oh, so that's where these insecure feelings rooted. Stiles frowned slightly, his brain hurting with all the information it was dealing with at once. He was pack. Still belonged. If he wanted. And by the looks on the others' faces, he'd have to make a definite decision now.

But what about Scott? Their friendship had taken a little nick with Scott's stunt, but if that was going to be Stiles' answer, then he was highly doubting that his best friend would ever forgive him. Shaking his head, he tried to get Scott out of it. Sure, in the long run this decision was going to affect Scott too, but it was first of all Stiles' decision, Stiles' life. So the question wasn't what Scott would be thinking, but what Stiles was thinking, what Stiles wanted for himself and what also would be good for himself. And being part of the pack would – when it came to safety – certainly be the best for him.

He frowned thoughtful, his gaze wavering, leaving Derek to look at the lecherously smirking Peter, the indifferent looking Lydia and the three sets of puppy-eyes (even though Jackson was doing his darn best trying not to and Danny was looking thoroughly embarrassed about doing it at all, which was really starting to freak Stiles out actually). In Stiles' mind, there were also Boyd and Erica to be thought of. They were pack, they worked together, protected each other, had each other's backs. Pack meant family. And you don't just turn your back on your family just because something didn't sit right with you. You also can't really choose your family – just like that bunch of werewolf-misfits that got thrust upon him. There wasn't much blood-family he still had.

“Pack means family. And you don't bail out of your family when there's trouble”, stated Stiles, his arms crossed over his chest to keep from flailing. “You said something about an Alpha pack threat? Because that sounds like trouble to me. So, what do we do?”

He drawled the 'o' long because of the sudden impact of a Golden Retriever puppy, best known as Isaac. The blonde rubbed his nose against Stiles' neck – scent marking, pack-stuff, right.


	3. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Isaac becomes a temporary Stilinski and the Sheriff is getting suspicious.

Chapter 2: Home

 

A new routine started to come into Stiles' life within the following week.

One of the wolves would check on him in the evening – normally it was Isaac, oddly enough. At school, he would sit with the two couples and get like the double douse of what he used to call the Scott&Allison Show. But somehow, those two couples were a little more durable. Jackson and Lydia were mostly like they used to be, the perfect couple, with Lydia obviously wearing the pants in their relationship. So nothing new there, he was already used to that.

Danny and Isaac on the other hand had quite the puppy love going on. They were kind of adorable and now that Danny was part of the pack and a werewolf and sort of 'forced' to spend time with Stiles, he actually even tried to have decent conversation with the sheriff's son. The relationship was also quite healthy for Isaac; the formally slightly psychopathic and laid back boy was slowly becoming... how to put it? Saner? Calmer? Nicer? Like a trained pup, yeah that was it. Danny was his anchor, his mate. Just like Allison was Scott's. This had been a valuable lesson for Stiles: Mated wolves were better and easier to be around.

It was actually quite companionable being with them. Danny was even laughing about some of his jokes and while Jackson was still being his douchebag self, he at least got to talk to Lydia. On a friendly base, yes, but that was actually nice enough too. Her mind was brilliant and so were the conversations they held. Danny sometimes had some input – the hacker was far from dumb himself. And while Isaac preferred to just idly sit by and remain silent, he too sometimes had a fascinating point to make. Though Jackson's snide remarks ruined the atmosphere most of the time. At any rate, it was a nice change to constantly only being around Scott. As much as he loved the other boy like a brother, Scott was not one you'd go to for an intellectual conversation.

Scott. He was really making all of this kind of difficult. In school the pack tried to keep their distance when it came to Allison and Scott, even though that proved to be hard for Lydia and Stiles. But that wasn't a solution. And even if it were, he wouldn't want it. He wanted to punish Scott with the silent treatment for a while, yes, but there had to be a better way. So the human boy gave his best to come up with a solution, a plan. He tried it, all the time and every where. In school and at home. Especially at home. That was about it. He came up with nothing so far.

And it was already Saturday night. Groaning, he clawed at his head. This was no good.

“Stiles? You know I've said this about... every day this week, but... you should go to bed.”

Stiles gave a declining grunt and squinted one eye open to glare at the oversized Golden Retriever pup sitting on his bed, all completed with tilted head and big, pleading eyes. Looking at the orphaned boy made Stiles come up with about five more problems that needed solving, problems that were way more important that his hurt pride and scratched relationship with his best friend. During this past week, he had spend about all of his free time talking with Derek and Peter, listening to all the things they knew about an Alpha pack. But dealing with all the information had also made him realize a couple of more, compared to an Alpha pack threatening them quite minor, other problems that needed taking care of.

“Where _exactly_ are you, Derek and Peter living?”, asked Stiles as he sat up with a frown. “And if your reply includes the words train depot, mansion ruins or woods, I will go out and kick that Sourwolf in the balls. Just so you know that.”

The eerie silence that befell them was answer enough. Huffing in annoyance, the human boy stood up and walked out of his room. Isaac gave a confused whine and hurried after him. The blonde tilted his head questioningly as they reached a room on the opposite end of the hall.

“Stiles?”, asked the young Beta curiously.

“It's our guestroom. When... my mom became sick, we had to put it up because one of her relatives constantly came to visit, mostly my aunts...”, replied Stiles softly and opened the door. “It needs a spring cleaning, but it has a desk, a closet and a bed. No sneaking in through the window in the middle of the night and leaving before sunrise anymore. You can stay here, at least until I beat enough sense into your glorious Alpha so he gets a decent place to stay.”

“Are you... sure...?”, frowned Isaac cautiously and looked around.

The small bedroom was very Spartan, but it was a proper bedroom, which was more than the old Hale house had to offer at the moment. The other boy raised one eyebrow and flailed.

“I wouldn't be asking if I wouldn't mean it!”, groaned Stiles exhausted. “And you know what, let me rephrase it. You're not allowed to stay, you _will_ stay. There, end of the story. With this Alpha pack roaming the woods and obviously mocking Derek by putting their sign on his door, it is not safe for any of you out there, especially not you, because unlike Derek you're only a Beta _and_ a teenager and Peter? Frankly enough, I doubt we're lucky enough to ever really get rid of him.”

“But your father...?”, asked the teen wolf slowly.

“Ah, I can handle that”, waved Stiles off, as confidently as possible.

And even though Isaac could hear the lie in his words, the sentiment was nice enough. With a broad grin, he jumped the boy, causing them both to crash onto the floor. Stiles yelped and tried to wave his arms, but the weight of the oversized Golden Retriever puppy kept him from moving.

“If you start to lick my face, I will officially revoke your werewolf card and replace it with a puppy card”, grunted the Sheriff's son. “Now get off me so I can get to bed. And so can you.”

Isaac nodded hastily and stood up. Rolling his eyes, Stiles turned away again to get to the bathroom and look for a new toothbrush for the blonde. The next time he entered the spare-room – armed with a toothbrush in one hand and a set of spare clothes in the other – the Beta was rolling around in the bed. Stiles bit his lips hard to keep from bursting into laughter.

“I brought you some clothes and a toothbrush. Bathroom is at the end of the hall. Make yourself comfortable. And don't sneak out of the window”, stated Stiles, waving with one hand. “Night.”

“Good night, Stiles”, called Isaac back as the bedroom door closed. “And... thanks.”

 

/break\

 

John Stilinski was doing overtime, very much overtime these days. But then again, in the past months the strange deaths seemed to occur every other week. And now, with two missing teenagers, he was once again in over his head. It felt like Beacon Hills didn't want to give him a break. However, regardless of how many late night shifts he may have done these days, he was still pretty sure that the last time he had been home, he had only had one son. Ruffling his hair, he stared through the open door into their spare-bedroom, observing the blonde boy currently sleeping in the bed. Isaac Lahey. He remembered how he had been looking for the boy not all that long ago, accusing him of murdering his own father. An abusive father, supplied his mind. Evidence had led away from Isaac as a suspect though, but that still did not quite explain what the boy was doing in the Stilinski house, sleeping peacefully as if the owned the place.

Grunting, he shook his head. It was too early in the morning to think about such things and he still had no coffee in his system. Whatever the reason may be, he would learn it from his son. Hopefully. The thought made him stop once again. Stiles had been acting weird in the past few months, even more so than usual. He was more jumpy, but at the same time more sleepy. Like he was taking more Adderall than normally and was spending too much energy on... something to really sleep. Then there were those odd conversations he seemed to be having with himself lately, the way he had been blocking John from entering his bedroom for a while as if he was hiding someone in there. But if Stiles had a girlfriend, he could always come to his dad and John had been sure that Stiles knew this. The most problematic for the Sheriff however had been that his son had appeared on one too many crime scenes, had stolen property of the department, kidnapped a teenager and ended up with a restraining order. The strangest thing however was that John could swear he had seen Jackson Whittemore out of the house a couple of days ago. Something was happening with Stiles and John feared that he was losing his son. He wished his wife would be there, she would know what to do...

 

/break\

 

Derek frowned down at his cell phone, tilting it that way and this, cocking his head curiously.

“That, my dear nephew, is a phone, you can use it to communicate with others who are not close enough to actually talk to them”, drawled his uncle from behind him, before frowning thoughtful. “Not that you're much into the whole talking with others concept.”

“I know that, Peter”, growled the Alpha irritated and glared at the older Hale.

“You did not look like it”, shrugged Peter nonchalantly. “What is the matter?”

Yet before Derek could answer (preferably by growling and and glaring), his uncle had stolen his phone from him and stared at it curiously, humming in acknowledgment. Derek sighed.

“I don't know what that means”, admitted the Alpha reluctantly.

“It means, and let me be quite forward with that, that young Stiles wishes to meet you tomorrow at twelve o'clock at Lora's Diner”, concluded the older Hale. “I'm not sure what there is to misinterpret in this message, Derek. It literally says 'Meet me tomorrow at twelve o'clock at Lora's Diner'.”

Derek huffed and snatched his phone back and stalked out of the bus. The train depot was maybe not the best of places to live, especially since he was feeling as though Peter was right behind him all the time, but for the moment it was better than the Hale house, what with the Alpha pack threatening his territory. The train depot was saver for now and he needed a safe place for himself, Isaac and Peter, especially now that they were missing Boyd and Erica. He was the Alpha, it was his responsibility to keep his pack safe. Now, with the new members, he truly needed a safe den. Before, he could be sure that Scott would be having a constant eye on Stiles. There was Stiles to look after and Lydia, two fragile humans. And Danny and Jackson were still new to being wolves.

Derek's head started to hurt with all the things he needed to look after, all the things he needed to take care of. And now Stiles wanted a... date? Or what? What was he supposed to think of this message, this demand? They had become quite close since their first encounter. Said closeness mostly consisted of Derek smashing Stiles' head against the steering wheel, or him pushing Stiles against a wall (or any other hard surface, really). Not that this was in any way Derek's fault. He had problems when it came to being social and Stiles was not the best when it came to being sensible either. But in the end, as annoyed as Stiles always claimed to be, he was always there to the rescue. May it have been with the wolfs bane bullet, in the pool, or when they had needed Lydia to break Jackson's curse. One thing Derek had learned about this town ever since returning was that you could always count on Stiles, whatever the problem was. He was a great asset to the pack. The greatest, actually. And he had already proven to have great knowledge about wolves when he had taught Scott control on the full moon. That reminded Derek that he somehow had to nicely ask Stiles to help him with the cubs and teach them control. Even he had noticed how horribly he had failed that one during the last full moon with Boyd and Erica... After losing those two, he was not proud enough anymore to admit that he needed help raising his cubs. There was a little, odd flutter within when thinking about getting Stiles' help. The way the Sheriff's son had looked all covered with eager, happy pups... it was a perfect picture and had remembered him of his old pack, of how it used to be whenever his mother had returned from some kind of meeting.

 _It's because he is your mate_ , whispered a voice in the back of his head, sounding an awful lot like Laura. _That's what he is, that is why he can control the cubs so well. Because he's the Alpha mate._

 

/break\

 

It was odd. He had slept as tight and well as he hadn't in a long time. Ever since his mother's death. Ever since his father had started drinking. But right now, right here, in the Stilinski guest room, he could keep sleeping for another twelve hours or so. He probably would have done so if not for the delicious smell of fresh pancakes invading his nostrils. Growling deeply in his chest, he stood and followed the smell downstairs to the kitchen. Just having woken up, he followed his instincts and walked over to rub his nose against the neck of the one standing in front of the hearth. The smell was sweet like apple pie and roses, but also spicy and somehow it smelled like warmth and sunshine and mischief. The rumbling in his chest (which Stiles liked to call purring whenever he thought the wolves weren't listening) increased as he inhaled what could only be described as the smell of home. Something he had missed ever since his mother's death, even though he had gotten the slightest feeling, the fleeting smell of it ever since Derek had turned him. With Boyd and Erica, he had started feeling like having siblings again and Derek, albeit far from perfect, was doing his best to become a fatherly figure to them. But this right here, it was the first time that it felt perfect.

“Good morning to you too, you oversized puppy”, grunted Stiles with one raised eyebrow. “At least you didn't sneak out again. Good boy. Now sit, breakfast will be ready soon.”

To humor Stiles, he overheard the last comments and just sat down. There was a coffee sitting right in front of him and it was certainly too good an opportunity to pass. Contently sipping the coffee, he listened to the faint, off-tune humming of Stiles and the steady beating of his heart.

“Good morning, boys”, grunted the hoarse voice of the Sheriff behind him. “Coffee?”

Isaac stiffened slightly. The last time he had talked to Stiles' father was when the Sheriff had accused him of killing his own father. And now Stiles wanted for them to live together? Hastily taking the Sheriff's cup, he filled it with hot coffee. Better make the Sheriff like him, he supposed.

“Good morning, sir”, smiled the blonde sheepishly.

“Morning, dad. Breakfast will be ready soon. But don't you have the day off?”

“A call came in”, sighed the older Stilinski exhausted. “You know that since... Matt went crazy, we're a little short. I'm sorry, I know I promised to spend some time with you today.”

“It's okay, dad”, smiled Stiles softly and placed a large portion of scrambled eggs on each plate. “I'll have Isaac to keep me company. He'll be staying with us for a while. Only a couple of weeks.”

“And... how come, if I am allowed to ask?”, grunted the older Stilinski with one raised eyebrow, starring interrogatively at the blonde. “What do you two have to do with each other anyway?”

“We're both in the lacrosse team, dad. And we share many classes. We're friends”, huffed Stiles and rolled his eyes. “Is it really that hard to believe that I have other friends aside from Scott?”

“Seeing as you've always, for as long as I remember, only been with Scott...”, started the Sheriff slowly. “Allison, okay, she is Scott's girlfriend. But then the... Lydia? And oddly enough also the Whittemore boy, even though he has a restraining order against you. And Danny, with who you and Scott even went to a gay club just to cheer him up. Not that I have anything against you having other friends aside from Scott, but what exactly changed this year to make you so popular?”

“I'm a great guy, dad”, protested Stiles with flailing limbs. “It just took them all a while to realize!”

“Of course”, snorted John with one raised eyebrow. “And how long will you be staying... Isaac?”

“I-”, started the blonde and gulped, not sure what the answer to that question was.

“Just until everything is through”, smiled Stiles broadly. “You know, Derek Hale, he's getting guardianship over Isaac and until that is done and until Derek finds a decent and big enough place to stay with a teenager, I offered that my good friend Isaac could stay with us, instead of Derek's small, tiny bachelor apartment.”

“Derek Hale...?”, repeated John slowly, glaring at his son as he stood to leave for work. “I know you are hiding something, Stiles. Even though both Derek and Isaac proved to be innocent, they were suspects in some of my cases. Jackson, the boy who has a _restraining order_ against you. Lydia, the girl who got attacked while being your date and then magically disappeared from the hospital just to run around naked in the woods. And Erica Reyes and Vernon Boyd, I've seen them around you too. Two kids who just went missing. The reason I have to work today, by the way. Because two of your new friends went missing. Something is up, Stiles. I know it. The only decent one seems to be that Danny kid, really. Don't test me, Stiles. I'll find out what's going on.”

“Of course you will, dad”, frowned Stiles, who had frozen up since the mention of Erica and Boyd.

“And you, boy”, grunted the Sheriff and turned to look at Isaac. “Call me John at home and not sir.”

“Okay, sir—I mean, John”, nodded Isaac hastily, taking a deep, relieved breath.

“Have fun at work, dad”, called Stiles after his father with a grin.

The moment they heard the front door close behind John, the backdoor opened and four wolves and one redhead sneaked into the kitchen, the wolves sniffing the air curiously. Stiles stared at them.

“What in the world are you lot doing here?”, grunted the Sheriff's son with one raised eyebrow.

“Derek had been worried, seeing as Isaac hadn't returned from his watch”, started Danny to explain and walked over to sit next to his mate and push his nose against Isaac's collar. “He thought the Alphas may have taken you on your way back to the train depot, so he woke all of us and called us as reinforcement to check up on the Stilinski house.”

“Just for the record, I told them that it was ridiculous and that you probably held Isaac captive”, noted Lydia and took a seat on her own. “Do you have orange juice?”

“I want pancakes”, declared Jackson, lounging on the Sheriff's vacant seat and stealing the bacon from his still nearly full plate. “And orange juice too, Lydia is right, that stuff is great.”

Stiles watched with wide eyes as even Derek and Peter comfortably sat down on the by now crowded breakfast table and stared at Stiles quizzically. The Alpha coughed slightly.

“Why is Isaac still here?”, asked Derek slowly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Because he'll be staying with me until we find a decent apartment or house or something else that is not totally burned down or an unused warehouse for you to live in. Preferably something with running water, gas and a roof top”, declared Stiles, swinging the pan accusingly at Derek. “But that's why I wanted to meet you for lunch, Sourwolf. Those Alphas are mocking you, painting their sign on your front door. Well, show them you're the better Alpha. Go and find a proper den for our pack. I already talked to my neighbor, she's a real-estate agent. She'll show us some houses tomorrow. You can't raise a teenager between old trains or in the open woods.”

“He's right, you know”, nodded Lydia, staring at her nails. “You'll never get legal guardianship over Isaac if you live out in the woods. And do you even have a job? How-”

“I figured we'd solve all of that with a tiny little help of Danny”, smirked Stiles mischievously and leaned against the kitchen corner. “You'll get that hacked, don't you?”

“Sure, I guess”, shrugged the newest wolf with a thoughtful expression. “It will probably be easier than some people snooping around, asking questions about Isaac's dad and Derek's sister.”

“Wonderful”, smiled Stiles pleased and turned to the stove again. “Plates and glasses are in the upper left cabinet. If you guys want to eat here, you're going to set the table. And Lydia, you're old enough to get the juice out of the fridge yourself. You can pour Jackson a glass too, while you're at it. If you want pancakes, Jackson, you're going to at least hand me the ingredients from the fridge. ”

The others stared a little stunned at the human, but Lydia stood with a little huff to get the orange juice just as her boyfriend hastily fetched everything Stiles needed for pancakes. Danny slowly stood to set the table for himself and the rest of the pack. Derek raised one eyebrow questioningly.

“I'm okay with the pack coming over for breakfast, or dinner, or any other meal”, answered Stiles to the unasked question. “But I'm not the pack maiden. You're old enough to do stuff too. A pack is about working as a team, not about sitting down and waiting for mommy Stiles to feed you.”

Isaac was the first one to ask how he could help. While Derek just stared silently. Mommy Stiles?


	4. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Derek has happy thoughts and Stiles hunts for a house!

Chapter 3: Preparations

 

Derek frowned confused and suspiciously as he drove up to the animal clinic. Sniffing the air, he noticed that Scott wasn't in. But Stiles was. Which was the reason why he was right now parked outside the building to begin with. Stiles had texted him to come and pick him up at three o'clock. As if Derek wasn't still confused enough from the day before. The pups had taken so naturally to eating together at Stiles' place and now Isaac was even living with the Stilinskis. Why was Stiles so open to all of this? He wasn't a wolf, he didn't feel the bond like the pups or Derek and Peter. And still, he was putting so much into this. Derek didn't understand it. Mainly so, he guessed, because the way the Betas acted wasn't as intense as Stiles' behavior, even though they should be able to feel the bond. Boyd and Erica had left, Scott had betrayed Derek's trust (once again), those were things Derek would have never even dared to picture happening to a pack. Perhaps he had been spoiled by his old pack, by how closer their family had been. Being a family, both as pack and by blood, was a different bond than turning teenagers into Betas and demanding for them to obey him, he supposed. Still, Derek tried to stay positive – not saying that he succeeded, but Stiles had warned him that his gloomy and dark behavior would be influencing the pups so he should try to man up and be strong for them as their Alpha. Positive thoughts. Not that Derek had many of them. Stiles, he had Stiles. When thinking positive thoughts, that was the first to come to his mind. Stiles, who had rescued him often enough in the past months, who knew how to handle his pups better than him sometime (he knew it, he could admit that Stiles had managed to teach Scott better control than Derek had been able to for Boyd, Erica and Isaac, so he had asked the human to do the same for Jackson, Danny and Isaac now). Stiles, who always had a plan up his sleeves and all the connections they ever had needed. Stiles, who had become Derek's first happy thought (not that he would ever admit that to Stiles, because the boy would probably die of laughing too hard at the mere concept of Derek Hale having happy thoughts at all, much less including him there).

But, as Derek had realized with a start only a few days ago, Stiles wasn't his only happy thought. For far too long, Derek had only known one happy thought at all – Laura, his big sister, his Alpha, his protector, his only family – and then he had lost her. Now he had Stiles. But he had so much more now too, so much more than he would have ever dared to have.

Isaac was loyal and eager to learn more, happy to have a fatherly figure that wasn't torturing him on a mental and a physical level. He was good, clever and with some training he would be a very strong Beta. And, even Derek had to admit, the blonde was very lovable – a Golden Retriever pup, as Stiles always called him when he patted Isaac's blonde curls. Isaac was his, Derek's first Beta and the first one to not only accept him as an Alpha as leader, but also as a fatherly figure, giving him the feeling of having a real pup in the blonde. Isaac was Derek's second happy thought.

Jackson – Derek winced mentally – would have never been Derek's idea of a happy thought. But the obnoxious, selfish jock had changed. The kanima incident had worn him out, made him almost shyer, in a way that spoke of how much he had started to fear himself. He was afraid to hurt – to kill – someone, maybe even someone he loved, not that he was one to admit that he loved anyone at all. It was probably the reason Derek had been so harsh on Jackson right from the start, the popular boy reminded him of how he had once been himself and also how he was now. Afraid of being left alone, afraid of losing someone again and just wanting a place to belong. Derek could see that now, thanks to a very informative conversation with Stiles he has had. The reason why Jackson had wanted the bite wasn't just that he wanted more power, but even more so because he wanted a pack, a place where he would be accepted, where he would belong without having to be the best of the best. Derek saw that, every time they interacted as a pack. Ever since Jackson had become a Beta, a werewolf, what he had always wanted, he was the most responsive to Derek's Alpha status. Sometimes his ego and desire to always be the number one made him act out, but in the long run, Jackson was longing for a family to belong to just as much as Isaac. Sometimes, when he was laying alone in the dark, Derek wondered what may have happened if he would have paid closer attention to Jackson's family situation, closer attention to _Jackson_. Maybe they would have been able to dissolve the whole kanima-drama earlier, if he would have taken an Alpha's responsibility over Jackson after the bite. But he had been too afraid. Something had happened, something he couldn't explain or understand. It looked as though Jackson's body was fighting the bite, but Jackson hadn't died. Derek should have paid that more mind, concentrated on helping his Beta instead of hunting more teenagers he could turn.

 _Happy thoughts, Sourwolf_ , chided a voice in Derek's head that sounded way too much like Stiles.

No use dwelling in the past and the what-ifs. Right now, Jackson was on a good way. He was stubborn, a little too competitive and sometimes too much of a jerk to his fellow pack-mates, but Derek was pretty sure that on the long run, Jackson's desire to belong would outweigh his desire to be the best. Jackson could become a good werewolf and a good Beta, if he allowed himself to. In Jackson, Derek had found a Beta that truly needed a mentor and guidance (not saying that Derek was really sure how to provide that, but he tried) and that gave Derek the feeling of being needed, being useful, being a true Alpha. Jackson was one of Derek's happy thoughts.

“Good, you're on time! But... I'm late. Damn”, Stiles' voice interrupted Derek's thoughts, making the Alpha stare over at the teen who entered the Camaro. “We're on time, still.”

“On time for what, Stiles?”, grunted Derek with a slight glare, he hated not knowing.

“We're going house-hunting”, declared Stiles with a slightly manic grin. “This is going to rock.”

“House-hunting...? I've hunted many things so far, but houses... Don't tell me there are creatures in Beacon Hills that make houses _move_ ”, groaned the Alpha exhausted.

“What? No”, frowned Stiles ridiculed. “We're meeting my neighbor, the real estate agent I've been telling you about yesterday. Weren't you listening? You have three to five werewolf pups, a demanding redhead, a creepy uncle, a handsome young genius and yourself. Face the facts, the Hale pack keeps growing and you need a proper den. You don't just need a place where you, Peter the Creeper and my favorite puppy can sleep, you also need a place for pack meetings, a place where every member of your pack can feel safe and home. And you can't tell me the old Hale house is such a place, because – and I know it used to be your home – it's wrecked. It doesn't even have a roof. You can't live there, even if you were alone you couldn't live there. But with your pack, with Isaac and Peter staying with you, with the threat of another pack invading your territory.”

“So... why are you coming?”, frowned Derek confused and winced internally.

“Thanks, I feel the love”, snorted Stiles with a glare. “Because you would miss the most obvious and forget half of everything. So I'm coming with you to make sure the house fits the needs of the whole pack, because I can see you just buying the next best empty space without furniture or practical function just so I'd shut up.”

Derek nodded slowly and started driving, following Stiles' directions. No need to argue with Stiles if the boy was right. But with the kamina around and Gerard, Derek just hadn't found it particularly important to move into an apartment and house, renovate, buy furniture and everything. Now, with no immediate threat – the Alpha pack hadn't done a thing aside from painting their symbol on Derek's door and that had been two weeks ago now, there weren't even news of animal attacks so there was no lead to follow anyway – perhaps it was time to find a proper place to stay.

His pack was growing, after all. Which reminded him of his list of happy thoughts. He was still on it, it was his daily practice to not be such a Sourwolf anymore, as Stiles liked to phrase it.

Danny. Danny was good, a genius in what he was doing even. The hacker had aided them his help before, even though he hadn't known why. Now, with Danny in the loop and in the pack, things would be much easier. Having another Beta also made him stronger again. Boyd and Erica leaving had weakened him again, but Danny gave him additional strength. And he made Isaac happy, which seemed to be the main reason why Stiles wasn't throwing a giant fuss at Derek turning another teenager. After everything Isaac had been through, he deserved happiness, he deserved having a mate to lean onto. Danny was responsible and cautious, a good combination, especially considering that they not just needed to keep their secret anymore but also be on the look out for the Alphas. And Danny had used his hacker abilities – at the suggestion of Stiles – to get Derek signed as Isaac's legal guardian. Otherwise, the blonde would have either gone into the system, or worse yet, he would have been carted off to his great-grand aunt in Canada, being forced to leave the pack. And even if Derek would have tried to become Isaac's legal guardian, a former murder suspect (two times, thanks to Scott), who was a homeless single man without work was not the first choice to be trusted with a child, especially not with one with such a troubled past. Danny was a happy thought.

Albeit she spend most of her time driving Derek crazy, Lydia was a happy thought too. If only because she was Jackson's mate and legitimately the only force to control Jackson whenever the Beta was in one of his power-hungry phases. The fact that she was fluent in archaic Latin and a teenage genius (why were the teenagers of Beacon Hills so overly intelligent anyway? Derek briefly considered if perhaps the water supply was enchanted) only added to her appeal. She was a little bossy and demanding from time to time, but Derek saw that she too just longed for acceptance, to not always be forced to be the best. He saw where she and Jackson came from.

Disturbingly enough, even Peter was one of Derek's happy thoughts. Because he was family. And even though he had killed Laura, Derek was desperate to believe that it had been in a frantic craze, when Peter hadn't been fully healed and mental not stable. He knew better, deep down, Derek knew better, but he _wanted_ not to. So for now, he simply cherished the fact that he still had family.

Erica and Boyd, even though they had left. They were his Betas, part of his pack. And as far as Stiles had told him, the two had wanted to return. Getting them back, having his pack complete again, was Derek's highest priority at the moment, even more important than the Alpha pack.

“So, what do you think about the house?”, asked Stiles.

Derek blinked a couple of times and took a look around. They were standing in a spacious living room, he could see a big garden through the glass windows. When had they even entered a house?

“Hn”, grunted Derek with a short nod, not sure what to say. “What do you think?”

The best way to distract Stiles from the fact that Derek hadn't been paying attention. Making Stiles talk. And really, in the end they would take whichever house Stiles was most comfortable with anyway. Derek had been fine living in the train depot and his old house for the past few months, after all. So his taste probably wasn't the best to consult.

“Well, it has three bathrooms – one on this floor, one on the first floor and a very small one connected to the master bedroom – which is pretty neat. Because I don't think you want to fight with the Betas who gets to shower first and we should have an extra bathroom for the girls... Ten bedrooms, which should be enough, I suppose...”

“You suppose?”, snorted Derek with one raised eyebrow. “It's only me, Peter and Isaac.”

“Right”, nodded Stiles with a disbelieving expression, starting to count off on his fingers. “It's you. It's Peter. It's Isaac _and Danny_. It's Jackson and Lydia. It's Boyd and Erica. It's me. And, I think, or maybe hope, well most likely hope, Scott. Not yet, probably not for months, but I think that if we give him time, he will realize what a dumbass he has been and join the pack.”

“I'm _not_ moving in with eight teenagers and my uncle”, blinked the Alpha stunned.

“Of course you're not”, snorted Stiles as if Derek was being very stupid today. “It's only you, Peter and Isaac _living_ here. At least for now. Boyd and Erica had kind of been living at the train depot with you too, so once we rescue them – and we _will_ rescue them – they'll be moving in here too. And you know how Jackson and Lydia live, their parents don't really give a damn. I mean, come on, Jackson's parents didn't even notice that he has been constantly disappearing for months now, that he has been behaving strange and they never ever saw any blood anywhere, not even on the towels or tiles? Really? And Lydia? She's been running around Beacon Hills naked after getting attacked and the best her parents can come up with is the guidance counselor? That's kind of embarrassing for them. They're part of your pack too and you need to offer them a place. If they have a fight with their parents or just feel left out again, they need to know that they can come to you and that they won't have to awkwardly sit in the living room, but that they have a room, that you are making room in your life for your Betas. And Danny? I think with Isaac living with you and Danny's parents not knowing shit, which is safe and will be kept that way, he will be over often, so let Isaac have a grown-up room with space for two. And with everyone having a place to stay here, I think I should... uh... too? You know, as member of this pack and all. That would mean you'd _need_ seven bedrooms. And with your tendency of turning teenagers, I'd rather go with too many rooms than with someone having to share a room with Peter. Then there's the matter of an office, we need an office in this house. Some place to collect the books, researches, data and everything we need to fight the monsters of the night and all.”

Derek nodded occasionally, whenever he had the feeling that Stiles wanted him to agree. What Stiles was saying was making an awful lot of sense. He hadn't counted that in. His old pack had been living together anyway, because they were a family. But now it wasn't granted that the Alpha had a place to stay for his Betas. He needed to give them this feeling of safety, the chance to come to him whenever they wanted or needed or life just got too hard for them.

The two of them toured the whole house about three times and judging by the spark in Stiles' eyes, they wouldn't need to look at any other houses. What Derek valued was the spacious property at the outskirts of town and close to the forest. Isolated, no noisy neighbors and space to run and train.

“Thank you, Stiles”, said Derek softly as they got back to the Camaro.

“Did you... really just say what I think you said?”, asked Stiles scandalized.

“Don't ruin it”, frowned the Alpha irritated. “It was good, looking for a house. And your input helped a lot, there are still... I'm not used to being the Alpha yet, there are still many aspects that I don't take into account. I don't know how you do it, because you're only human-”

“Maybe because I am only human”, grinned Stiles and shrugged. “You've lived your life as a Beta so far, you never met the responsibilities of an Alpha. I researched them because all this supernatural stuff is news to me. Something you never did because you probably expected it to come naturally to you, just like being a werewolf did. You just need a little help, that's all, and then you'll grow into this position, I'm sure of it.”

Derek nodded and stared out of the window, partly ashamed that a werewolf, an Alpha even, needed the help of a human to lead his pack, and partly relieved that he had Stiles at his side. “I'll drive you home. I guess Isaac won't be all that comfortable being alone with the sheriff.”

“No”, declined Stiles and shook his head. “I mean, my dad is working late today, so Isaac is probably busying himself with Danny because he has the house to himself. It took that pup a whole of two hours to get homey and comfortable. Anyway, you don't need to drive me home, I still have to run an errant. Just let me out at the grocery shop, okay?”

Derek frowned as he nodded slowly. It wasn't a lie, but he could still hear how Stiles' pulse had sped up just the slightest bit. Shaking his head, he pulled up in the parking lot. He shouldn't pry. Stiles had done something for him today, so he should at least give Stiles the benefit of doing something for himself too, whatever it was. He watched the teen climb out of the car.

“Good night, Stiles. I'll see you tomorrow to sign the contract?”, asked Derek a little unsure.

“You mean... you really want to buy it?”, grinned Stiles broadly and obviously satisfied.

Even if not before, right now he would. Just to see Stiles' eyes sparkle like that. Derek nodded, causing Stiles to grin even broader and bump his fist into the air. The teen stood outside the car, waving the Alpha off, standing there and waiting until the black car disappeared around the corner. Once Stiles was sure that his Alpha was truly gone, he slowly made his way over into the opposite direction, away from the grocery shop. The motel was a little shabby, but it was exactly where Stiles needed to be right now. Walking up to one of the tiny flats, he knocked the door.

“Stiles”, came the gruff answer. “I doubt that Allison wants to talk to you at the moment. Or that you want to talk to her, really. If you don't mind, leave now.”

“Chris”, smiled Stiles in a sickeningly sweet way that was obviously fake. “I didn't want to talk to Allison, I came here for you. I have a request... or two.”

Chris Argent grunted, crossing his arms over his chest and raising one eyebrow. “Why would you come to me with a request? Don't you have your pet werewolves for these kind of things?”

“This isn't something I can ask them. And _you_ owe me a favor”, stated Stiles, dropping the act.

“I wasn't aware that I owe you anything, Stilinski”, frowned the hunter.

Suddenly, and very surprising for Chris, he had an angry teenager all up in his personal space. “You do. You and your hunter's honor owe me, you and your _family_ owe me. I want a gun. Because I can't just walk into a store and buy one, with a set of silver bullets. And after all the shit your father put me through in your basement while you were idly standing by, you _owe me_ protection.”

Chris froze for a moment and guilt flashed through his eyes. “Do you even know how to shoot?”

“I'm the son of the sheriff in a small town”, snorted Stiles with one raised eyebrow. “I've learned to respect a gun and how to properly handle it before I could walk so I'd never get any stupid ideas with my dad's. Well, okay, not that early, but you get it, right? Oh, and another thing. You'll come over tomorrow afternoon, my dad will work long. I need your help with something.”

“With what?”, glared Chris slightly irritated. “I'm not your personal maiden.”

“I've talked to Deaton, ordered enough mountain ash wood to put up a fence. Seeing as wolves aren't much of a help when it comes to that, I need a human who won't ask stupid questions to help me put a new fence up”, replied Stiles a little on edge.

“You say they're your pack, but you still want to put up protection from them around your house and a gun to poison them with?”, asked the hunter a little intrigued and suspicious.

“Not against them”, growled the teenager, straightening some as though he just had an idea. “There is a threat in Beacon Hills. And if it'll be as bad as the kanima, it will get my dad as the sheriff involved. I don't want him endangered. He's human, he doesn't know shit about this stuff. I need to know he's safe. Look, I... help me with this and I'll tell you more about the threat. You're a hunter of honor, aren't you? This is about protecting the innocent, isn't that what you hunters are supposed to do? I need to keep my dad safe, he's... my only family. You need to understand that, you would do everything to protect Allison too, wouldn't you?”

“A threat?”, frowned Chris and Stiles could see the flips his stomach must be doing. “Can't we just catch a break for once...? I'll help you. But that will be the only thing. You'll not come to me again with any kind of favors, are we clear? And I want _all_ information you have, not some half-assed parts that you deem best. Allison is the only family I have left and if there is another danger in Beacon Hills, I need to know it. Just as you need to protect your father.”

“I think we have an understanding then, Chris”, smiled Stiles coyly. “Tomorrow around noon? Your daughter has math then so she won't be asking where you are and I'm free.”

“For now we have an understanding, Stiles”, nodded the hunter a little reluctantly.

“Oh, wait!”, exclaimed the teen as Chris turned back to close the door.

“What else, Stilinski?”, asked Chris a little sharp. “Don't test my patience.”

Stiles chuckled slightly, rummaging around in his back-pack until he pulled a small card out and held it out for Chris to take. “My neighbor's business card. She's a real estate agent. I figured... you and Allison won't want to live in a motel for forever. You can't do that with a teenager. And she, no, both of you, already have been through enough. You need a new start.”

“A new start...”, repeated Chris and heaved a sigh, taking the card. “Thank you, Stiles.”


	5. Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where even the big, bad-ass wolf Jackson is only an insecure, little pup on the inside and Scott gets his share of Stiles-time too!

Chapter 4: Blue

 

Stiles groaned exhausted. Him, Chris and Lydia (with very much persuasion and his best begging-kitten eyes) had spend practically the whole afternoon finishing the new fence that was now surrounding the property. It was good and blue, which made it look kind of friendly and nice and not so sterile. Now he just needed someone to test it.

“Lydia, oh love of my life”, grinned Stiles, batting his eyelashes at her. “Would you be so kind as to gather the pack here while I'll be talking to Chris for a moment?”

“We both know that _I_ am not the love of your life”, snorted Lydia and rolled her eyes in that knowing manner only women could. “I'll call Jackson. He's over at Danny's anyway.”

He watched her leave before turning back to the hunter, who was impatiently standing there and staring at him. They both knew that he would have to be gone before the pack arrived.

“I promised you the whole truth with all the details, but there are details I may not be able to answer. There are... other things that need to be discussed to ensure everybody's safety”, started Stiles slowly. “I want you... and your daughter to attend the next pack meeting this Saturday. Please, don't protest. Hear me out first, okay? Allison completely lost it under Gerard's influence. She needs to face what she did. You cuddling her up and patting her head will fix nothing. Give me a chance, okay? This meeting, you can ask, you will get answers. You will be in the loop, know what is going on fully. If you want to stay in Beacon Hills, you will need to learn to live with the pack, especially now that you and Allison are the only hunters around here and the pack outnumbers you by four to one. If you try and find a civil way with Derek, it would be better for us all. You know that. You're a clever man and you're fair, I know that. Otherwise you wouldn't have let me, Boyd and Erica go. You know my pack is innocent, you know we are no threat. Not to the town, not to you. Saturday, three o'clock in the old train depot Derek loves hanging around these days. Come or don't, it's your decision if you really want the information, the chance of redemption and peace. Up to you.”

Stiles was fidgeting as he watched Chris leave without another word. He really hoped the hunter would come around, because against a pack of Alphas, having one or two hunters could be a great advantage. The other way around, the pack would provide Allison and Chris with much needed protection. Because on their own, two hunters would most likely be more like snacks to an Alpha pack than a threat. The secret ingredient in this mix was an alliance. Stiles just needed to find a way how to explain that to Derek though... Oh well, those were future Stiles' problems for now.

“What are you really up to, Stiles?”, asked Lydia as she joined him again. “This wasn't just about building a fence. This was about Mister Argent more so than anything, wasn't it?”

“Maybe so”, shrugged Stiles casually. “You should be the last one complaining. You want Allison in this pack more so than me. To me, she's still the one that tried to kill Boyd and Erica and Jackson and Scott and _Derek_ more than anything. She's a risk, but I think one we need to take.”

The ginger huffed and glared at him, but she didn't dare to object, because deep down she knew that it was true. The two of them stayed in the garden, staring out at the street in silence. Stiles was pretty sure Lydia was trying to punish him by not talking to him, but right now, he needed the peace so he could think. Plan on how this pack meeting was supposed to go. The first car to pull up was Derek's Camaro, with Derek and Peter getting out of it, looking curious and intrigued. Next was Jackson's boaster car, the co-captain being followed by Danny and Isaac as he left the car. The five werewolves walked up to the property and just wanted to push the blue door open, but they barely could even touch the wood. Jackson glared confused (he probably had never faced mountain ash before, Stiles mused) and tried to jump over it. Stiles had to bite his lips to stop from laughing as Jackson seemed to crash into an invisible wall and fell down onto his ass.

“Stilinski”, growled Jackson irritated (okay, so maybe Stiles hadn't managed to not laugh). “What the fuck is going on? What's wrong with this stupid fence?!”

“It's mountain ash”, replied Stiles, which earned him a soft, pitiful whine from Isaac.

“Why?”, asked the blonde curled boy with a puppy pout.

“A pack of Alphas still consists of regular werewolves that are just as weak to these things as you guys”, grinned the human boy proudly. “This is the best way to keep my dad safe. I mean, you know how deep he had gotten dragged into the whole Gerard-Matt-mess because of his job and regardless of how quiet the Alphas keep for now, they'll cause trouble some day and that will get my dad involved and that may draw the Alphas' attention to him. So I need this to protect him.”

“But... what about us?”, frowned Isaac with a betrayed look in his eyes.

“You should know Stiles better than that”, sighed Lydia theatrically and went to hand out five keys.

“No mountain ash keys and lock, so you can simply unlock it and get inside. So keep those keys close and don't lose them, especially not to some strange Alphas!”, warned Stiles.

Derek frowned down at the key and slowly stepped up to the small door, putting the key into the lock and turning it. Pushing the door open at the still inserted key, he was able to open it. Tilting his head curiously, he passed the mountain ash fence and entered the property of the sheriff.

“Good”, grinned Stiles broadly, waving them closer. “Come inside, you get snacks.”

That got the attention of the pups and they were practically running the house's doors in. Shaking his head in amusement, Stiles followed the rest of his pack inside. Not without closing the fence's door again though. As he entered the living room, they were all already eating the chips and dips Stiles had prepared for them before Chris and Lydia had arrived. Stiles sat down between Derek and Isaac on one couch, with Danny, Jackson and Lydia on the other next to them. Peter was creeping around the house, probably snooping through Stiles' stuff. Stiles swore, that guy was like a curious pup, wanting to know everything and follow everyone. Sometimes he just wanted to hit the man with a rolled up newspaper right on the nose and send him to the doghouse. Only occasionally did Stiles participate in the conversations between his friends, rather observing them. He learned by observation, something his father had taught him. Jackson and Danny seemed closer, now that there were no secrets between them anymore they were back to the best friends they had been before not just this whole kanima mess, but also the whole werewolf-secret thing. It made Stiles feel relieved, because Jackson and Danny had always been like the popular, hot version of Scott and Stiles, not that Stiles was jealous, he was more happy that others had their own Scott too, that others had such a strong brotherly bond to a friend too. Lydia was slowly melting that ice bitch exterior she had built up over the past years. Very, very slow. But there were those genuine smiles and they came more often these days, which was good, really good. Isaac too seemed to blossom, now with Danny at his side and a stronger growing pack around him. And even their Sourwolf of an Alpha was trying. Stiles could see it, in the way Derek was watching them, not as though he was judging or trying to determine their mistakes and how to improve on their wolfiness, but by  _showing interest_ . He was watching them, because he was listening to how Danny and Lydia were currently trying to explain their highly complicated next chemistry project. He was paying attention to his pups and listening to how their days were, how they were doing at school and at home, how they were feeling. He was even considering their opinions now, because he had taken the whole pack to see the house as Derek and Stiles had signed the contract for the house. Something else that told Stiles that Derek was really trying, because he entrusted Stiles with this, had thought this through actually. In case something happened to Derek, in case the Alpha pack had come to take him out and if they succeeded, the pack needed a den. A last will was nice, but having Stiles as a legitimate owner of the house was going around those bureaucracy problems. Seeing as Derek had no real second in command yet and his uncle was supposed to be an invalid in a hospital, Stiles had been a good choice for this. Not that Stiles was all too pleased to be thinking of  _any_ scenario where Derek died.

Lydia was the first to leave, having to go shopping with her mother for 'bonding', which only made her roll her eyes at the ridiculousness of this whole idea. As Danny and Isaac too left, because they wanted to go and see a movie together, Derek kept staring quizzically at Jackson. The Alpha was probably as confused that the jock was still there as Stiles was. But something was weighting Jackson down, Stiles had already noticed that he was being awfully quiet. Pulling his cellphone out, Stiles send Derek a quick message to go and leave Stiles alone with Jackson, because it was pretty obvious that Jackson wanted to talk to Stiles alone, otherwise he wouldn't wait until everyone else was gone. Derek sighed, a little disappointed that his Beta wouldn't come to him with his problems, but also sort of proud that the Beta would go to Stiles, which was a weird mixed feeling and made Derek feel quite glad that he could leave now and dwell on it for a little longer.

As the Alpha left – without Peter, because he couldn't find his uncle anywhere, which was not the least bit unsettling – Stiles and Jackson were all alone in the living room. The co-captain of the lacrosse team was sitting with his hands on his knees and his head low.

“Okay, what's up with you? You look... depressed. That is so not your look. The normal arrogant prick goes way better with those cheekbones”, commented Stiles with one raised eyebrow.

“I just... I can't talk with Lydia about this, because she will roll her eyes and I don't want to talk to Danny about it and Isaac and Peter are not... and Derek is... and I...”, Jackson heaved a miserable sigh and rubbed his face annoyed. “I fucking hate talking about my feelings.”

“You have feelings?”, asked Stiles surprised and winced. “That came out wrong. I _know_ that you have feelings. I mean, you have feelings that you need to talk about? That don't concern Lydia? And that you don't feel comfortable talking to Danny about? I assume that you don't really know how to talk to our emotionally constipated Alpha and that you don't know Isaac and Peter good enough?”

“Yeah”, nodded Jackson, relieved that Stiles seemed to get it. “That's why I thought I could talk to you about it. That and because you always research everything, so maybe you know...”

“I see that you _really_ have a problem talking about your feelings”, grunted Stiles with one raised eyebrow. “So how about you just get it over with? I can only answer if I know the question.”

“Am I a freak of nature?”, blurted Jackson out, looking as miserable as a kicked puppy.

“W—What?”, asked Stiles a little stunned and scooted closer. “What makes you think that?”

“I am the only one that didn't turn into a werewolf right away. I turned into a cold-blooded killer reptile. And now that I am a wolf, I have... blue eyes”, sighed the jock, rubbing his face exhausted. “I keep thinking about it, but I don't get it... Isaac has golden eyes, Scott has golden eyes, I know Boyd and Erica too have golden eyes, even Danny now has golden eyes. But Peter has blue eyes. Because he's against nature, I mean, we killed him and he came back, right? Is... is it because I'm a freak of nature that I have blue eyes too? Can... Can't I just... fit it?”

If it wouldn't be Jackson he would be talking to, Stiles would bet the other boy would right now start crying. But Jackson just looked overall miserable and hurt. The human knew that fitting in and belonging was all he ever wanted, why he always tried to be the very best in everything. A pack was where he could belong, but once again, something separated him from the others. Stiles frowned. He didn't want any of the Betas to feel like they didn't belong, not even Jackson, even after everything the douchebag jock had put him through, he still wished for Jackson to find his spot.

“I... don't know”, answered Stiles softly. “I mean, I never found anything about eyecolors when doing my research. But I do have a very solid theory regarding them. You want to hear it?”

Jackson nodded reluctantly, looking something akin to insecure, as though he feared the answer.

“Peter and you aren't the only Betas with blue eyes”, started Stiles, watching how Jackson straightened some in interest. “Derek too had blue eyes when he was a Beta. Now, I think that the blue eyes aren't just random like with us humans and eye-colors. Red eyes mean Alpha. Golden eyes mean Beta, or Omega in some cases. Now we know that Derek had blue eyes and now he is the Alpha. Peter had been the Alpha and now that he's a Beta, he too has blue eyes. I think that blue eyes on a Beta are a sign of Alpha-potential. I mean, think of it, you've always been a leader. Captain of the lacrosse team, captain of the swim-team. You fit the criteria.”

“You think... the blue eyes mean I have Alpha-potential?”, asked Jackson, perked up.

“Of course”, grinned Stiles and nodded, patting Jackson's back. “I mean, every Alpha needs a second in command, someone to be his right hand. A successor. A potential next Alpha. Not every Alpha dies by being killed by a Beta so the Beta gets the powers, right? Some die of a natural cause and the pack can't stay without an Alpha, can it?”

“So... the blue eyes mean I'm special?”, asked Jackson, his eyes practically sparkling like a little boy's who had just gotten told by his mommy that he was the most special little child on the planet. “That I have the potential of becoming an Alpha? To be a second in charge? That must be it.”

The confidence returned to Jackson, making him straighten up some, smirk like the Jackson he was used to. The co-captain of the lacrosse team stood, grinning the way he always did.

“I'm sure”, nodded Stiles with a half-grin, ruffling Jackson's hair against better judgment. “You're a leader by heart, who else from our pack would have the potential to raise to an Alpha? You know, if... you ever have any problems you want to talk about, I promise to keep my silence and listen.”

Stiles grinned pleased as he watched Jackson leave with lighter steps than before.

“You're too kind to the pups, don't spoil them so much.”

Stiles did not jump like a gummy bear as Peter suddenly stood right behind him. A little too close behind him. And with a very unsettling grin on his face, that soon turned into a thoughtful frown.

“What are you still doing here? Everybody else already left!”, exclaimed Stiles, gesturing wildly.

“I was curious what got poor, little Jackson so upset”, replied Peter with the most fake worried look on his face. “And your explanation was just too adorable. You shouldn't coddle them so much.”

“The way you say it”, frowned Stiles accusingly, crossing his arms over his chest. “You know what the real reason is behind those blue eyes of yours. So, if you don't want me to really put you into the doghouse over the night, you better tell me.”

“I'll overhear that”, snorted Peter amused, raising one eyebrow. “You are not going to like the truth, because it may make you look at our beloved Alpha in a different way.”

“Whatever could that be?”, glared Stiles demandingly and sat down. “I'm responsible for hoarding all the information for everyone of the pack. I should know this basic stuff.”

Peter gave him a not unkind but also not really reassuring grin as he sat down next to Stiles and started to talk. “Yellow eyes represent the innocence of a werewolf. Once that innocence is taken, the Beta's eyes turn blue. And as you most likely are well-aware of, I'm not talking about sex here.”

“Will I ever get a straight answer out of you?”, huffed Stiles unimpressed.

Peter gave him a shit-eating grin as though to taunt him. “Derek was once very much like Jackson. Very full of himself, the leader of his friends. An Alpha boy in high school. Until he fell in love. His Lydia was a young musician named Paige. She too managed to tame him, had him at her beck and call, just like Lydia with Jackson. The problem was that Derek had to keep a secret from her. A secret of such importance. Being a werewolf. But he wanted her, loved her, wished to keep her at his side. So he decided to turn her, to give her the bite. I tried to tell him not to-”

“Woah, slow down”, grunted Stiles with a disbelieving frown. “You're telling me that you were the voice of reason and that Derek was the unreasonable brat? The whole turning-teens thing I'll believe. He's still doing that, after all. The rest however...”

“You may believe it or not, but there was a time when I was Derek's most trusted confider”, continued Peter a little amused. “Well, Derek gave her the bite, but... her body didn't accept it. It fought and lost. She was in pain, suffering immensely. Derek did what was right, he... released her.”

“So... the blue eyes come from taking innocent lives...”, whispered Stiles darkly and shifted some. “You with Laura, Derek with... Paige... and Jackson with his victims from his time as the kanima? That... You are not talking to the pups about this, you here me? I forbid you from telling them. Jackson is not to know that. He's suffering enough under the guilt, but looking into the mirror and being reminded of it every time he sees his blue eyes? No. And you, if you go against that, I'll make you suffer at the hands of Derek, just so you know.”

Peter chuckled amused as Stiles looked at him as though Peter was a very disobedient puppy.

 

/break\

 

Scott was feeling blue, sitting on his bed all curled together. For the first time in his life, he knew what it felt like to be all alone. Allison had broken up with him, all his other friends were in a different pack, even his best friend, the one person that had always been by his side, even when his father had turned his back on him to go with the FBI far-far away from him and his mom like their family didn't matter at all, even he had left Scott alone now. The only good thing, Scott mused with a sarcastic grin, was that now he had the time to study, much to Melissa's delight.

“Hey, Scott. What are you doing?”

The sudden voice startled him so much that he fell off his bed. Hanging half-way upside-down his bed, he stared over his window, where _Stiles_ was just climbing through. Scott gaped in surprise and hurriedly scrambled off the floor to look at Stiles. He hadn't seen Stiles that up close in weeks now; the pack was making sure of that. It seemed that Stiles was letting his hair grow out, looked good on him so far. The other boy was also looking lighter, like he had less worries now, which made Scott's heart fill with relief. If the pack made Stiles feel less worried, then that was worth it. Stiles had aged about thirty years in the past three months, watching out and trying to figure everything out.

“S—Stiles. What are you doing here?”, frowned Scott, rubbing his neck before stiffening. “Did something happen? Did you come here because the pack is hurt? Are they alright? Are you alright?”

“Everyone is fine, Scott”, laughed Stiles amused, pulling a key out of his hoodie's pocket. “I put a fence up around the house. Mountain ash. So no werewolf will be able to reach the house without having a key to unlock it, because you guys can't jump over it. Theory proved by Jackson. So... I came to give you your key. Here. Don't lose it.”

“Why are you giving me a key?”, mumbled Scott confused, head cocked. “I'm not part of the pack.”

Stiles looked at him ridiculed, as if he was the dumbest dog in the kennel. “You'll always be part of  _my_ pack, Scott. We're bros, you moron. I'm giving you the silent treatment, because you've been the biggest moron possible, but that won't last forever. You got that whole kicked puppy thing going on, no one can stay angry for long. Besides, I... want you to be part of the pack. Don't look at me like that. Derek keeps looking at me the same way when I say it, but it would be for the greater good for all of us and I know, given it some time, both you will come around too.”

“Stiles...”, started Scott slowly, not wanting to protest.

Stiles understood and lifted his hands in silent surrender. “I didn't come to fight or argue, okay? If you don't believe me, that's fine. But... if you want for this to work, for you and me to get along again, you have to give me a  _chance_ . I'm only asking for one afternoon, Scott. Nothing more.”

Scott glared a bit. What was he supposed to do? He would never knowingly do something that would hurt Stiles or scratch their friendship. If one afternoon was all it took to maybe get back into Stiles' good grades, then he could do that. Besides, Lydia and Jackson had been part of his 'pack' for a while too, he really liked Isaac a lot and no one was capable of disliking Danny. So he would be able to overlook the fact that he would be forced to spend the afternoon with Peter, who had ruined his life by giving him the bite, and Derek, whose life he had ruined by constantly lying and who probably had every right to hate him now.

“Fine”, sighed Scott reluctantly. “When and where?”

“This Saturday, three o'clock in the old train depot”, grinned Stiles and let himself fall onto Scott's bed. “Now come. Video games. Isaac is out with Danny, dad works. I have some time to kill.”

Scott wanted to ask what Isaac had to do with it, but he decided to just enjoy some Stiles-time.


	6. Treaty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where the pack, the hunters and Scott have a pack-meeting, Stiles hopes that everyone will live at the end of it and Lydia and Peter ship Sterek.

Chapter 5: Treaty

 

It could be worse. That was the only thing keeping Stiles going at the moment. The whole situation, it could be so much worse. At least there had been no bloodshed so far. Not that he didn't expect for that to follow too, looking at the faces of the gathered people.

In one corner stood Scott, a little upset and sad, staring with those big, brown eyes at Allison longingly, or glaring at the pack suspiciously. He stood alone, with his arms crossed, looking all the Omega he had chosen to become, which made Stiles' heart ache.

In the other corner were the Argents, Chris standing protectively in front of his daughter. Allison had a look, somewhere between guilty, annoyed and panicked. Truth be told, Stiles was relieved to see that. It showed that she wasn't completely empty – that she wasn't like Kate, or Victoria, or Gerard. That there was still hope. That there was still enough of Chris in her to rescue her.

Then there was this... bunch of kicked puppies, there really was no other way to describe them. Derek and Peter were standing slightly in front of the Betas and behind the line of Jackson, Danny and Isaac was Lydia, the weakest of them shielded by the pups. The pups that were looking at him as though he had just brought them to an animal shelter. The only thing worse was the look on Derek's face – one of utter betrayal and hurt. Because of him.

“Okay, before any of you start accusing me of being a dick or start ripping each other's heads off, give me a chance to explain myself first, yeah? Violence can follow after that too, but give me a chance first”, started Stiles softly, turning pleading eyes on them all.

“You promised me information”, grunted Chris with a distrusting glare at the wolves. “I'm waiting.”

“Stiles-”, growled Derek, flexing his claws as he watched the last Argents.

“Now, dear nephew”, interrupted Peter amused. “I say we should listen to Stiles first.”

Never before had Stiles been that grateful for Peter to be there. Okay, now he just needed to find a way to phrase it right. The way so everyone would understand him and hopefully agree.

“It's true, Derek, I promised the Argents information. Information that I also promised to Scott. Because they have a right to know”, said Stiles, taking a deep breath. “The only thing that had worked fluently in the past months, and you have to agree to that whether you like it or not, were when we killed Peter – no offense, Peter – and when we took Gerard out, right?”

“No offense taken and I agree”, chuckled the oldest wolf amused. “It was teamwork.”

“Exactly!”, nodded Stiles excited that at least one caught on. “Teamwork! All of us, humans, hunters, werewolves, regardless of being different groups, we worked together! And while the past months led to much, much bloodshed and losses on all sides, we achieved what we wanted when we all worked together! Now, I know you're not going to sit together to drink tea and exchange stories, I don't aim for a long-term alliance, I'm aiming for a treaty, a truce.”

“You make your point very clear, Mister Stilinski”, grunted Chris with a slow nod. “But I fail to see how that would be of any use for me and Allison. I don't intend on... mingling.”

“I make my endgame point clear, yes. But let me explain the steps between now and treaty”, added Stiles hurriedly, making some wild gestures as he saw the pups growing agitated. “Please hear me out, okay? I've spend the past days, weeks thinking this through, okay? Give me a chance.”

Derek gritted his teeth, taking a deep breath. This wasn't going to be good, but the look Stiles was giving him was really hard to deny. It seemed Stiles really had been thinking much about this – he had noticed that Stiles was too hard thinking all the time, the bags beneath his eyes were darkening and even though Stiles played it down, Derek noticed that Stiles was eating less due to stress. The least he could do to take that burden from his mate – pack mate, he corrected himself – was to listen to his words. Motioning for his pack to follow, they sat down on the couch. Jackson, Lydia, Danny and Isaac on it, with Derek and Peter sitting on the sides, ready to jump up and defend the pups. Stiles smiled brightly at that, guiding Chris and Allison to the couch opposite them and Scott to a broad arm chair, so the three parties were sitting in a triangle, with Stiles standing in the middle. Everyone was looking at him, waiting. If he failed to formulate this right...

“There is a pack of Alphas in Beacon Hills. A couple of weeks now. No, we don't know what they want, how many they are or where exactly they are”, started Stiles, answering the questions in Chris' eyes before the hunter could open his mouth. “We only know it because they left their mark on the old Hale property. Whatever they want, we think it's nothing good. We also think that they took Boyd and Erica. _I_ think that you should know this. Because you're two hunters. Two of you aren't any danger for them, because they're all Alphas. You'd be bait, a treat they would tear apart for lunch. And I don't want for this to come as a surprise once you encounter them. Same goes for you, Scott. You're an Omega, an easy target. I won't let that happen.”

“I get why you warn them, you care”, grunted Derek reluctantly. “But why are _we_ here?”

“Because this should be something that goes all ways”, sighed Stiles, a little exhausted. “We're the good guys, all of us. Chris lives by a code, Scott couldn't even harm a fly. The good guys should trust each other enough to trade information. It's what I expect from you, Chris and Scott. We just told you about the Alpha pack and if you gain any new knowledge, of the Alphas or of any other treat to Beacon Hills, I expect you to share it with us too. Our pack never harmed the innocent, right? So there is no reason for you to hunt us, Chris. The fact that no one shares information is what has led to most problems in this town, all of you have to see that, right? If all it takes for all of us to keep those we care about safe, then it's in all our interest to do so.”

“Information...”, frowned Chris reluctant.

“You saw how well we worked together before”, pointed Stiles out, turning his full attention on Chris. “You don't have much left. Most your allied hunters fled town after Gerard died. Most your family turned their backs on you and broke the code... every time by trying to kill someone from this pack, actually. I think you owe this pack that much. Your daughter tried to kill each member of this pack in the past weeks even several times and so far none of them have tried to take vengeance. If you want it to stay that way – and this is by far not a threat, it's more of a warning, because if she ever tries to kill one of mine again, _I_ will protect them with any means it will take – you better get her checked. She just lost her mother, her aunt, her grandpa. She needs professional help.”

“My daughter's sanity is none of your business”, grunted Chris with a warning glare.

“It is as soon as it endangers my pack”, growled Stiles and straightened. “We are the good guys of Beacon Hills and if everything goes downhill and hits rock-bottom, all of us are capable of working together and teaming up. In such a team, we need to look out for the weakest link the most.”

Jackson's eyes fluttered over to Lydia worried, grabbing her hand, while Isaac whined and stared at Stiles. Danny was reluctant to judge, but taking a look around, he settled on Scott, because he was the only one that wouldn't have backup if everything fell.

“You, Miss Martin and Scott McCall”, grunted Chris unimpressed, raising one eyebrow.

“Wrong, wrong and wrong again”, hummed Stiles, cocking his head. “I have the keen ability to wiggle myself out of any bad situation somehow and thanks to you, I now have the means to protect myself. Lydia has her mate, Jackson won't let her be unprotected for a minute. And Scott... he's stronger than you give him credit for and if he needs help, he will always have me and even if it takes me begging on my knees, I will have my pack with me then to help him. The weakest link, from all present, is your daughter. It took your sister only a couple of days to manipulate Allison into believing that werewolves are bad, without much questioning. It took your wife and your father only a few weeks to have Allison ready to kill her friends and her boyfriend in the most brutal ways without batting an eyelash. She's weak, weak in mind. Who's to say that great-grand-uncle Mitchell won't drop by next and trick her into killing _you_? Right now, with her unstable mind, she's a danger to all of us, including you and herself. With the Alpha pack here, we really don't need that. I talked to Deaton about it and he can teach her defense of the mind. She still needs a psychologist.”

Chris gritted his teeth in anger He was a hunter, but before all else, he was a father. And he was well aware that his daughter was far from fine and that what Stiles was suggesting may actually help her. She was suffering, from the losses, the things she had done, seen and learned and her own weaknesses. He may be too proud to admit it in front of them, but he was man enough to admit it to himself. His daughter needed help, help he was not able to provide her himself.

“Allison?”, asked Lydia softly and with pleading eyes. “Stiles is right. This isn't you. You were a happy and fun girl when we first met, but... what happened made you bitter and dark...”

The huntress averted her eyes and remained silent as she sat slightly behind her father, trying to hide herself from the critical eyes of the others. She was aware of her own mistakes, after all.

“I know we aren't in any way close to being friends, all sitting down for a pick-nick and braid each other's hair with flowers, but all of us should be grown-up enough to coexist in peace. This town has enough trouble as it is, none of us need hostility between our groups on top of that”, continued Stiles softly. “All we need is a truce. My pack won't hurt you, Scott, or you and Allison, Chris. In return, you are staying away from my pack. No using them for target practice anymore”, Allison flinched slightly at that. “And no lying and only trading as much information as you deem fit anymore.” This time, he even got Derek, Scott and Chris to lower their heads in something akin to shame. “Think of it this way, if you are willing to share your information, so are the others, which will result in _you_ staying safe yourselves, together with those you love. Hunters have different means of gaining information than our pack and Scott, not being part of the pack, has that certain advantage that the Alphas may not know about him, giving him a different approach to the situation too. If we use those different views to our advantage, we, as a team, may be able to take this threat out before it burns Beacon Hills out completely. A treaty is our only way to continue living in this town. All of us. Either that, or a fight to death and I doubt anyone really wants that, right?”

He gave it his best glare – the one he had seen by his mother whenever he and Scott were up to mischief and she tried to warn them off without words. It seemed to be effective, because it had Danny, Isaac, Jackson and Lydia squirming like him and Scott back then. The four of them probably had the least input to this. Lydia wanted to be able to associate with Allison again, Jackson most likely didn't care all that much and Danny hadn't seen what had went down with Peter and Gerard and how they had worked together. Isaac though, he looked reluctant. His glare aimed at Allison told Stiles that he was far from ready to forgive her or come close to her. Allison seemed to feel that glare, because she shrunk even more in her seat. Overall, she was looking guilty and a little ashamed, a good start in Stiles' books. Peter, he was just looking downright amused. The important parties – Chris, Scott and Derek – looked thoughtful. Also a good thing, maybe.

Opening his backpack, he pulled three things out – a stack of paper, a pen and a box of doughnuts. Scott was the first one to grab a doughnut. At least until Stiles threw him a chiding glare. Blushing slightly, the teen wolf stuffed the doughnut into his mouth and then grabbed the treaty, reluctantly sitting down together with Chris and Derek on one couch (Allison had stood to grab a doughnut herself as Stiles threw her a glare too) to read it together. The atmosphere was broody and awkwardly silent as no one tried to breath too loud so the three leaders weren't disturbed.

Grabbing a pink doughnut with sprinkles, he collapsed on the couch right between Danny and Lydia, placing the box on his lap. The pack didn't hold back any longer and ravished the delicious treats. Stiles had to suppress a laugh as Danny and Isaac gave their best  _Lady and the Tramp_ impression with a chocolate doughnut. And even tough he was watching his pack, one eye was still trained on Allison, who slowly sat down on the now vacant armchair that had previously been occupied by Scott. She watched them with a certain level of regret and envy.

There had been a time when it was them; Scott, Allison, Lydia, Jackson and Stiles, who would have been on this couch together, doing stupid stuff and eating doughnuts. But things have changed in the past months, significantly changed. Danny's laugh as Lydia had powdered sugar on her nose from her own dessert pulled Stiles out of his thoughts and cracked him up.

“This is... a very cautious phrased document”, interrupted Chris slowly.

“I had Lydia help me with that”, admitted Stiles sheepishly.

Derek lifted his head to stare at the strawberry blonde with one raised eyebrow, which was returned by her just as nonchalantly. “I want to know Allison safe too, even if she's not part of this pack. If we provide information and, if requested, protection for each other, we all would be safer.”

“Monthly meetings sound like a good idea to ensure this trade of information”, nodded Chris.

Looking into Scott's eyes, Stiles knew everything the teen wolf wasn't saying. He liked that plan, wanted to have a chance to get closer to Allison and Stiles and also his other (former?) friends. He wanted a chance to redeem himself, maybe even to make up for what he had done to Derek in the past. Now the only one Stiles needed to agree was his own Alpha. But knowing how stubborn that Sourwolf could be, Stiles was slowly growing nervous. Especially as Derek did something unexpected and stared at Stiles demandingly.

“Do _you_ truly believe that it would be the best for our pack?”, asked the Hale Alpha. “After everything different members of the Argent family have done to my pack, after how often Scott betrayed the trust I put into him and how often he joined and abandoned the pack again, do you truly believe that an alliance with them will be for the best of our pack?”

Stiles blushed slightly under Derek's intense eyes. He enjoyed the way Derek referred to them as their pack, the way he was addressing Stiles, making him feel like an equal. For too long, Stiles had just been the doormat to Scott and Derek. Now he was part of it too.

“Yes”, replied Stiles calmly and evenly, watching out for his heart-rate to be low and soothing. “I'm sure we will be safer this way. It will be the best way for us to keep our pack safe, Derek. You know the hunters, they have means to defy werewolves and this enemy, this time, we will have to face werewolves. There's no one who knows more about fighting werewolves than a hunter.”

For a nerve-wrecking moment, one where he was sure the pack held their breath, Derek and Stiles remained with their eyes locked, daring each other to look away first. Derek nodded slowly and took the pen and in that second, Stiles noticed that he had been the one holding his breath.

It would have been a historically epic moment – hunters, a pack and an Omega, all signing a treaty to ensure a better cooperation in the future – but somehow the chocolate, sprinkles and powdered sugar around their mouths as they still chewed their doughnuts made the others seem not very historically epic. Still, they were watching in anticipation as one after the other signed the contract.

“Was that it, or is there anything else, Mister Stilinski?”, asked Chris seriously.

“Meetings every month, care for Allison, bullets for me, protection and information for you... Mh, no, I don't think to”, replied Stiles thoughtful, shaking his head. “As long as you keep your end of the deal, we will keep ours and you won't have to worry about any... hostility from the pack.”

He was phrasing it nicely, but the message was clear: If the Argents would provoke them, they would attack with an advantage of one to three and this time, they would be merciless.

The hunters were the first to leave, Scott waiting to not get into that awkward situation where he would have to walk into the same direction as his ex-girlfriend and her father. Maybe even so to look at the pack for a little longer, to watch that bond he was missing out on. But as the doughnuts were gone and the pack too slowly stood to leave, Scott sneaked out without them noticing.

“So... Pack meeting? The end, or do we continue on this merry note?”, asked Lydia a little bored.

“Not here”, grunted Stiles and rolled his eyes. “Come on, we'll go to my place and order pizza.”

The pups were out of the depot within seconds, Peter slowly trailing after them. Though as Stiles wanted to follow, he found himself stopped by Derek's hand on his wrist. Moments later and he found himself pressed against the wall by a very angry Alpha, who was all up in his personal space.

“I appreciate that you were thinking about our pack's safety”, growled Derek, not sounding the least bit like he was appreciating anything right now. “But I am the Alpha and if you let me and my pack walk into a room with hunters ever again without talking this through with me first, you will regret that, Stiles. Are we clear? You will share your plans with me from now on and you will talk me through them first before you set any of them in motion. You endangered my pack and me and first of all, you endangered yourself when you decided to go to them without me or any of my Betas. You'll not do such a thing again. You're my pack, you're under my protection. You will not risk your life being stupid anymore. I know you did this because you thought I wouldn't agree with this, but even if you think that, you can not go against your Alpha like that ever again. Understood?”

“Y—Yeah, sure”, nodded Stiles wide-eyed, subconsciously baring his neck. “I'm sorry, okay? I just... really want everyone to get along. I thought you... wouldn't agree. After everything the Argents have done to you. I just... I'm glad you're giving this a chance, Derek.”

“Are you two coming?”, interrupted Lydia's annoyed voice as she re-entered again. “Or do you need some more time making out? Because I for my part want that promised pizza.”

Stiles flushed brightly and jumped slightly as Derek let go of him as though he just burned himself, the Alpha glaring at the strawberry-blonde. Grabbing Stiles' upper arm and pulling him along, Derek followed the human girl. Danny and Isaac were already sitting in the back of Jackson's car, the co-captain waiting for his mate to take her seat on the passenger seat. As Derek pulled Stiles toward the sleek, black car, the human boy noted curiously that Peter was sitting on the back seat.

“Come”, ordered Derek in a gruff voice. “Scott brought you here, didn't he? Get in the car.”

Stiles nodded slowly and got comfortable on the amazing seats (he loved that car, no denying that, not that he would tell Derek that). They drove for a while in silence, not the comfortable one. It was evident that Derek wanted to say something, the way he kept looking at Stiles and gripping his steering wheel, to the point where Stiles thought it would break between the claws.

“Derek...”, started Stiles softly and slid down in his seat some. “I'm sorry... I know you're the Alpha and I shouldn't have called this meeting without talking to you first, but... I...”

“I understand why you did it”, grunted Derek, staring stubbornly out through the front window. “Scott is your oldest friend and Allison, you and her became friends over the past months too. After all the losses and everything that has gone down the past months, you don't want to lose them too and you know that the safest place for them is with the pack.”

Derek took a breath, gripping the wheel even tighter, the leather squealing in protest as his claws dug into it. Curious eyes watched him a little worried, Stiles biting his lips and waiting.

“But”, continued the Alpha, flashing red eyes. “You _need_ to understand, Stiles, you...”

“I can't do these things without talking to you first, because you're the Alpha”, nodded Stiles slowly, fidgeting with his hands. “And as the Alpha, we're all your responsibilities, we're your pack.”

“It's not just that”, grunted Derek a little frustrated, the squealing getting louder under his claws.

“I know!”, huffed Stiles slightly irritated, with one eyebrow arched. “I know that. I know that pack means more to you than a responsibility. And I'm aware that you don't... after all the losses, that you don't want to lose any more pack. I'm sorry, okay? I promise you no more life-endangering stuff without back-up at my side. You're not going to get rid of me that fast, Sourwolf.”

He leaned over some and brushed Derek's shoulder with his own. The red died down in Derek's eyes and his grip on the steering wheel loosened some. The Alpha looked more content now, there was even a certain softness to him as he turned to look at the human boy. Stiles' breath hitched as he realized that Derek truly had more than just the brooding, grumpy look. Now it really didn't surprise him anymore that he had charmed the receptionist at the police station back then.

“Would you two _please_ stop finishing each other's sentences? Or at least pull over so I can properly puke?”, drawled Peter, earning himself a heated glare from his Alpha. “Oh please, I've been telling you to kiss and make out... up, I meant to say make up, such a slip of the tongue, no idea where that came from, for some time now. It's not my fault that it took you two that long to do so.”


	7. Den

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Isaac has a nightmare and mommy!Stiles makes it better and furniture shopping with werewolf is not as much fun as it sounds!

Chapter 6: Den

 

“Stiles?”, whispered an unsure voice softly in the middle of the night.

Stiles grunted and turned around, lifting the pillow off his head to stare sleepily at the tall blonde in his door frame. Raising one eyebrow, the human sat up, ruffling his hair some. It was weird that it kept growing these days. What with all the chaos, he hadn't gotten them cut in too many weeks now. His normal buzz-cut had grown out before Gerard too a little, but now? Shaking his head at the weird thoughts that invaded his sleepy mind, he tried to focus on Isaac.

“What's up, Goldie Locks?”, yawned Stiles, rubbing his eyes. “Did the three bears wake you?”

“I'm feeling stupid for being here”, grunted Isaac upset and turned around again. “I should...”

“You just woke me up and it's...”, yawning again, Stiles pulled his alarm clock closer. “Three thirty in the morning on a Saturday. If you dare just leaving again now, I'll force you to go jogging with Derek in the mornings. You know he jogs between three and five in the morning. Now spill it.”

“I... had a nightmare”, sighed Isaac, blushing a little embarrassed. “I thought maybe you're awake... Sorry I woke you up. It's just... When I was staying with Derek and Erica and Boyd... if... one of us had a nightmare, we... did this thing that Erica called a puppy pile and Derek never denied it and after Erica and Boyd left... we did it to comfort each other... I just thought...”

“If that's a thing pack does, then you can do it with me too”, frowned Stiles, lifting his blanket some. “Just because I'm not a wolf and I don't have the instincts doesn't mean I'm not participating in pack-stuff. If anything, it means I'll double participate.”

Isaac smiled softly as he looked at Stiles and walked over to the human boy, sneaking into the bed and cuddling up to his pack mate. Rubbing his chin against Stiles' shoulder, he tried to leave his scent, just as Derek always had done with him and Boyd.

“Thanks, Stiles...”, whispered Isaac. “Even if you say different, I know it must be weird for a human without the instincts that someone your own age sneaks into your bed like a little child to his mom... It's just... our instincts. When wolves don't feel safe, they seek out pack.”

“And nightmares really manage to make you feel unsafe”, huffed Stiles with a sharp nod, wrapping his arms around the blonde, running his fingers through the soft curls. “You... said you, Erica and Boyd used to have nightmares? All of you? Often...? And Derek helped you through them?”

“He may not have done very good as a teacher when it came to being an Alpha, but he was good at the inter-pack stuff...”, mumbled Isaac, slowly growing tired as he snuggled up to Stiles more. “I... always had those dreams... about... my father... And Erica, she often dreamed of the times others teased her and made fun of her because of her epilepsy... Boyd... did you know he lost his sister...? I... didn't even know he had a sister, before we became pack... I didn't know anything about them. I was just as ignorant as everyone else to them... And... now they're gone...”

“Not forever”, interrupted Stiles softly. “We'll find them.”

He didn't mention that he knew about Boyd's sister. He had always spend too much time and interest in his father's work. The rest of the night was spend caressing Isaac's hair in a soothing manner and watching over him, making sure the blonde didn't have another nightmare, just like his mother used to do for him when he had been a kid with a nightmare. When his mother had died, it was one of the few things his father managed to make up for. Looking at Isaac with sad eyes, he knew that after his mother's death, Isaac didn't have anyone to take over.

 

/break\

 

Sniffing confused by all those different scents, Danny took a wild look around. He was still adjusting to all the changes. Never before had he considered cheating like this. But he hadn't done it to become stronger or more powerful, he had done it to belong with his friends, to be able and protect them. To fully understand the feelings Isaac had confessed to him. At first, he had wanted to let Isaac down softly when the blonde had confessed on that first pack meeting Danny had attended, when Jackson, Lydia, Isaac, Peter and Derek had told him the truth. After all, Isaac had never shown interest in guys before and the last thing Danny wanted to be was the curious experiment of a pretty but straight boy. Only after learning the full truth and deciding to become part of it, he understood. The first time he opened his eyes as a wolf, the first time he looked at Isaac and took in the blonde's unique scent and one of his rare, kind smiles, he knew. He knew he would never want anyone else.

It had taken him the past weeks to adjust and even though he was a little more adjusted to the new sensations and the changes of his body and his senses, he was still overwhelmed by it all. Like the different smells. He could find Isaac in a crowd, just because of his scent. He had even noticed that all members of his pack had a certain note to their scents, like a mark that they belonged to him now. It was exciting and somehow reassuring. For the past months, he had felt like an outsider in his own life. His two best friends – the one he considered a brother even – had been avoiding him, were having secrets from him and spending more time with the new girl than with him and with the outsiders they had never even been interested in before. Now he was part of it too, had his friends back and even gained some more. And he had Isaac. It was a good and satisfying feeling.

“Isaac”, grinned Danny as he turned around, catching his mate's scent.

The blonde and Stiles were approaching him from behind, pushing a cart in front of them as they joined the rest of the pack in the middle of the furniture shop. Isaac's arms wrapped around Danny's neck as he pulled his mate into a kiss. Danny hummed pleased as he could smell Stiles on Isaac. Which was a little weird, because shouldn't it make him jealous to smell another guy on his mate?

“What took you two so long?”, huffed Jackson annoyed from where he was sitting on a couch.

“Breakfast. With my dad. He has a late shift today, I wanted... to enjoy the time with him”, sighed Stiles softly, running his fingers through his hair. “Besides, you guys could have gotten started without us too. With the stuff for your own rooms.”

“Already did that”, replied Jackson with one raised eyebrow, jerking his head in the direction of the three full shopping carts. “Danny helped Lydia and me choosing stuff and he picked some stuff out for his and Isaac's room. Now we're stuck with our indecisive Alpha...”

Jackson stood and led them over to the bedroom department of the store, where the four of them found Peter, Lydia and Derek. Stiles grinned slightly as he took the rest of his pack in. The way it looked, Lydia was explaining something about taste to Derek, who looked more than bored as they stood in front of a giant, dark-wooden framed bed. Peter was laying on the bed next to it, with his arms behind his head, his eyes closed in fake sleep.

“Okay”, interrupted Stiles and clapped his hands. “If Jackson and Lydia already got everything and Peter, by the looks of it too, then how about you two go and bring it over to the house already? Peter, you can take Derek's car, I'm _sure_ he doesn't mind. Isaac, go with Danny and pick out everything you want for your room. And I mean everything. No being modest, you hear me? Lydia, I would love to offer my help to you here. Now off you go. We need to organize this better so we will have all the furniture inside the house by the end of the day, okay?”

Much to his surprise and amusement, the pack obeyed nearly instantly. A grumbling Peter stood and left the building together with Jackson, while Danny pulled Isaac along as though he had something in mind that he wanted to show his mate. It was adorable how grateful Derek looked as Stiles approached them and how utterly annoyed Lydia was.

“Don't give me that look, Sourwolf”, grinned Stiles and let himself fall onto the bed Lydia and Derek were standing in front of. “If you can't handle pouting and nagging teenagers, you shouldn't keep turning them into werewolves. Now come on. We need to pick stuff for your bedroom and for mine and then comes the hard part. Where the whole pack needs to agree on bathrooms, kitchen, living room, library and everything else we need, you know? Huh, that bed is awesome...”

“Please don't remind me, Stiles”, grunted Derek with a glare and sat down next to the boy. “They've been driving me crazy for an hour already. And _she_ is the worst of them.”

“Excuse me for trying to get some taste into this”, snorted Lydia, flipping her hair back.

Grinning amused, Stiles laid back, stretching his arms out over his head and staring up at the ceiling. As the mattress next to him dipped, he turned to look at the Sourwolf. His heart sped up a bit as he realized that he was laying in a bed with Derek Hale. In the middle of a store. Shopping furniture for a household of werewolves. And this was his new normal now. Suddenly, he had the Alpha all over his personal space once again, sniffing his neck and making him blush.

“You smell like Isaac”, whispered Derek in a nearly appreciating manner.

“And you smell like rapist from over here”, commented Lydia with one arched eyebrow. “I mean, being an adult laying on top of the sheriff's underage son on a bed in public.”

It seemed to amuse Lydia immensely as Derek and Stiles drove apart hastily and looked around in a paranoid manner. Derek coughed slightly to cover up his blush as he stood and glared at her.

“We'll take this bed. Now let's move on”, commanded Derek strictly.

A cheeky smile slid onto Lydia's lips as she noted, all to herself, how Derek said 'we' after Stiles had approved of the bed, even though she had tried to make him buy it for half an hour now. This would prove to be very interesting on the long run. Maybe she needed to do some research of her own...

 

/break\

 

Only five hours later had the pack back at the new Hale house, unloading the last furniture. They hadn't bought everything. The additional bedrooms would stay empty for now, no use spending money and time on furniture they didn't need right now. The mansion was long, a wide hall on the first floor leading up to the master bedroom, five doors on each side of the hall. The first on the left led to the bathroom, which made one thing clear for Stiles: The first room on the right would be the office. With the masses of coffee he could drink when doing researches, he needed a clear path to the bathroom. The master bedroom would, obviously, go to Derek. Stiles watched with calculating eyes how the extra strong wolves carried the newly bought furniture into the by him designated rooms (Derek had shoved a paper at him earlier and demanded that he should put up with this crap, because he really did not have the patience to deal with _rooming arrangements_ ). Seeing as Stiles was still supporting his theory on blue eyes, he gave the bedroom on the end of the hall on the right to Jackson and Lydia; right hand on the right to the Alpha. What he didn't tell the others was that, when standing within Derek's room and turning toward the door, the bedroom to the right would obviously be the one opposite. Because as much as Stiles wanted to make Jackson believe that the theory about Jackson being the most likely to succeed Derek as Alpha was him, deep down Stiles knew who truly was Derek's right hand and second in command. The very first true Beta of his, the first one Derek had accepted into his pack, the one he had turned to rescue him from a bad home, the first one to control himself on a full moon. And with the frequent nightmares, Stiles figured it would be best to place Isaac close to Derek. Peter chose on his own. He wanted the room next to Jackson and Lydia's, figuring that it would be empty more often and he would have to listen to less intercourse than having the room next to Isaac's where Danny could sneak inside any time he liked (this accusation had made both Danny and Isaac blush furiously). With one room empty between his and Peter's, Stiles chose the bedroom next to the one he deemed to become the office.

“I feel like I should take offense in your choice”, noted Peter in a drawl as they were alone.

Lydia was supervising how Jackson and Derek put the kitchen together while Danny and Isaac were busy with the living room, leaving Peter and Stiles in what would become the office that most likely only the two of them were going to use anyway.

“Call it... wise planning with consideration of the future”, shrugged Stiles with a smirk.

Isaac and the others had understood when Stiles had declined the room next to Isaac and Danny, saying that he knew Boyd and Erica should stay closest to their first pack mate once they return. His argument that he wanted to have the room next to the office out of obvious reasons, because it was the room next to the office, had satisfied most others too. Most, aside from Peter.

“I figured that much”, chuckled Peter amused as he put a shelf together. “Why ever would Scottie boy want to take the room next to me is beyond my comprehension though. It must be him whose room you want next to yours, I'd guess, am I right?”

“And still you fail to put all the pieces together”, hummed Stiles softly, feigning ignorance.

“Stiles”, growled Peter, growing a little impatient.

The human snickered, he knew exactly that the former Alpha hated not being in the know and after the helpfulness he had shown during the pack meeting, Stiles decided to have mercy on him. “I know what Scott and Allison are. I know that their break-up won't last forever, because they're mates. I know that if we have a room for Scott for the time that he may finally join the pack for good, it will most likely also be the time when he is back together with Allison. And I figured that  _ Chris _ would like to stay in the room next to his daughter and her insufferable mate to keep a very close ear on the two of them and their funny business to prevent it.”

The way Peter froze up in the middle of pushing the shelf against the wall told Stiles that the wolf had not counted in for Stiles to reason in that particular way. The teen smirked victoriously.

“I... fail to see the connection between your answer and my question”, grunted Peter stubbornly.

Stiles huffed and rolled his eyes as he walked over to the man and leaned in to whisper in a voice he knew for sure the werewolves downstairs wouldn't be able to hear. “Have you ever told anyone, Derek or someone from your old pack, what he is? What he  _ really _ is to you? I've been putting up with Scott and the puppy eyes for long enough to see the very well hidden looks you have been giving Chris during the pack meeting last week. That's why you pushed the treaty, isn't it?”

“That's hardly any of your business”, growled Peter, this time truly angry.

By now, Stiles knew when he had poked a wolf enough to back off, so he decided to go back to 'building a desk in ten simple steps, Sweden style'. Humming to himself, he minded his own business and ignored Peter for the time being, giving the wolf the chance to cool off. Judging by the way Derek had been behaving about Scott and Allison from the beginning, he had never heard of a wolf finding a mate in a hunter before. So he most likely didn't know who his uncle's wolf had chosen. One day, a calm day when Peter and Stiles would be alone, Stiles would demand some answers. For now, he chose to let the wolf be. He knew what it had done to Scott to be apart from Allison, had seen the way it had changed Jackson to break up with Lydia. He couldn't imagine the pain a wolf must suffer if he denied to acknowledge his own mate.

“I'll go downstairs and make sure that Lydia hasn't driven Derek crazy so far. You look like you can handle this on your own”, stated Stiles as he left the office room for now.

This whole mess was making Stiles wonder if every wolf chose a mate, how they chose a mate. By scent? By looks? By how well they were compatible? How important was a mate to a wolf? What exactly did it mean to have one, or more importantly, what did it mean to have none? How could their Alpha, how could Derek be the only one in their pack without a mate? Was it the Sourwolf's way of punishing himself? Not even allowing himself to look for someone to complete his life? Or had he perhaps lost his mate? Good lords, what if this Paige girl had been his mate? If he had been willing to turn a teenager when he had been one himself. What would killing your mate do to your soul? Or worse yet, what if  _ Kate _ had been his mate? The thought made Stiles' stomach turn.

“Stiles? You look kind of... green?”, asked Isaac curiously from where he was pushing a couch around, stopping to stare at Stiles worried. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. I'm fine”, nodded Stiles with a sheepish grin and took a look around.

The living room was spacious and open, with a huge window front, which made it look as though it was part of the nature surrounding the house. A big table and three cozy looking couches were already standing and Stiles knew exactly where that flat-screen he had bought for Lydia's birthday was going. Danny was nearly finished with the TV stand on the other side of the room.

“So... What do you think?”, asked Isaac curiously, collapsing on one couch.

“I think this starts to look like a proper home. There's still that personal touch missing, like photos and DVDs and books on the shelf and imprints of water stains from glasses on the table, stuff like that, but it has... potential...”, grinned Stiles as he sat down next to Isaac.

“This is at least going to make for better pack meetings”, chuckled Danny as he finished his work and went to join Stiles and Isaac. “Nothing against your place, but your living room is really getting a little crowded with five wolves and two humans in it.”

“You don't see me protesting to that”, snorted Stiles, arching one eyebrow. “Huh. The house is going to feel awfully empty without you there, Golden Retriever.”

“You know you have visiting rights”, chuckled Derek as he entered the living room, drawn in by the soft sound of his pack's voices. “You do have a room here too, after all.”

“Not that dad would really notice, with all the long shifts he does these days”, muttered Stiles.

“What are you all doing here anyway? We have to finish this. Did I tell you that you could take a break? No. So get back to work. There are still five bedrooms that need to be furnished and for those who haven't noticed yet, next to Stiles' room is a room that demands to be turned into an office slash library so Stiles won't be forced to one day explain to his dad not just the stack of porn beneath his bed, but also the books on wolves and other creatures.”

“Thank you, Lydia”, huffed Stiles with one raised eyebrow. “How sensitive of you.”

“What?”, shrugged the strawberry-blonde nonchalantly. “Wouldn't want to have you stuck in a situation where you have to explain to your dad that you're jerking off to ancient pictures of werewolves. It'll be hard enough to explain the rest of the stuff you hide under there.”

“When did you even... Oh, never mind. After the game. Mental note: Never leave Lydia Martin alone in your room”, huffed the embarrassed boy and stood. “I positively hate you right now.”

An awkward silence befell the room as they all took the new information in and wondered briefly why knowing that about Stiles kind of felt like walking in on their parents. Derek was the first one to have mercy (and the first one who really wanted a change of topic), so he too stood.

“Feels like a real den to me. You're already quarreling worse than Laura and Cora.”

“Cora?”, repeated Stiles curiously as he followed the Sourwolf back to the kitchen.

“Our... younger sister”, replied Derek softly, with a far-off expression in his eyes. “She was around your age. And she always followed Laura like a puppy and tried to copy her, but Laura was in that age where that isn't sweet but just bothersome. They often fought. But it was...”

“Family?”, smiled Stiles a little sadly, resting one hand on Derek's shoulder.

The pack was good for Derek, Stiles knew that. He had never heard Derek willingly bring up his old pack, his family, or even share new information about them. It hurt Stiles immensely to know that Derek had lost so, so many. If he thought back on how much it had destroyed him to lose his mother to a sickness that had it coming for months. But so suddenly losing nearly everyone he cared for? It never ceased to amaze him how strong Derek truly was, that he was still going. It reminded him of what Miss Morrell had told him once: If you're going through hell, keep going. And if there was one person who seemed to live by that rule, it was Derek Hale.

“So... if we do pack meetings here from now on, does this mean more pizza? And movies? Because we won't have to sneak out before the sheriff comes home?”, asked Jackson casually as he followed.

“Oh. We need a popcorn maker”, grinned Isaac broadly.

“Pack meetings are  _ not _ movie nights”, grunted Derek annoyed. “They're serious business.”

“That's what you get for turning teenagers”, chimed Stiles teasingly. “I never tire of saying that.”


	8. Leather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Jackson's parents plan on shipping him off to London, but Stiles fixes it with Danny's help and then the two go shopping together!

Chapter 7: Leather

 

Stiles was sitting comfortably on the couch in the living room of the pack house, a bestiary on his lap. His dad was feeling responsible for finding Boyd and Erica, which was ridiculous because he had no idea what was even happening. But he was the sheriff and after all the murders and strange occurrences in his town, John wanted to make it safe. It probably had something to do with Boyd and Erica being Stiles' age and that making John afraid what he would do if Stiles would just disappear. Especially so after the last big game when Stiles in fact had disappeared for hours and then turned up beaten. Stiles was pretty sure it was another reason why his dad was keeping himself busy with late and long shifts, because he was feeling guilty for what had happened to Stiles. And of course also the fact that Matt had fucking killed nearly everyone at the station, which kind of forced those who were still alive to work double and triple shifts until they could get replacements. With his dad working so much, Stiles came to hate staying home all alone. Now that summer had officially started even more so, because he didn't even have school to keep his mind occupied for a couple of hours. He found himself drawn to the new Hale Mansion. Jackson and Lydia spend nearly the whole day there anyway, Isaac, Derek and Peter were living there and Danny too came over as often as he could. It was lively, it felt like family. More than sitting at home alone anyway.

“It's freaky to see him just... sitting there, not flailing or ranting...”

Danny's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, causing him to lift his head and stare doe-eyed at the werewolves. Derek, Peter, Jackson, Isaac and Danny were entering the living room, all in sweaty running clothes. Grinning sheepishly, Stiles put the book aside.

“What are you doing here?”, frowned Derek confused.

“Uh...? Sorry?”, blinked Stiles a little taken aback. “Should I call first before coming over? We never established any rules when it comes to that. I was just... feeling like being here.”

“No. That's not what I meant”, grunted the Alpha, displeased that he had upset his pack mate. “It's eight in the morning. What are you doing here, instead of being at home, in bed?”

“Ate breakfast with my dad before he left for work. Cleaned a bit. Got bored. Figured I'd check what you guys are doing. But you weren't here, so I picked one of the books Deaton ordered for me and got comfortable. The living room is the only finished room in this house, after all”, chuckled Stiles. “By the way, finish the kitchen. Soon. I nearly broke my neck stumbling over the empty pizza boxes when I got myself a glass of milk. You need to eat something else aside from pizza. You're growing wolves, you need proteins and shit like that.”

“Right, mom”, snorted Jackson and rolled his eyes.

“Are you back? Are you showered yet?”, asked Lydia from the stairs as she joined them. “Did you bring breakfast? Oh. You brought Stiles. I would have preferred a bagel.”

“We brought breakfast. It's in the kitchen”, grunted Derek with a frown.

“Lydia! What are you doing here that early?”, asked Stiles surprised.

“We've stayed here over night”, shrugged Jackson and walked over to his mate.

“After we went shopping yesterday. Look, look!”, grinned Lydia brightly and ran past them.

Stiles stared after her as she ran toward the coat check next to the main entrance of the house. As she returned, she was wearing a blue leather jacket barely reaching her kidneys. She grinned at Stiles and turned around a couple of times proudly.

“A leather jacket”, nodded Stiles slowly, raising one eyebrow.

“Oh please, Derek has always been wearing a leather jacket. Isaac, Erica and Boyd had too after they turned into wolves. And Jackson and Danny got themselves black leather jackets to fit into the pack theme too”, huffed the strawberry blonde. “Blue compliments my eyes. And I have to show that I'm part of this pack too, wouldn't you agree?”

“So you came over yesterday to show your new wardrobe off?”, grinned Stiles amused.

“No. We came over because I couldn't stay at home”, glared Jackson and crossed his arms over his chest before sitting down on the couch like a pouting child. “My 'parents' decided that it will be best for me to move away from here. They want to move to London. That's in fucking Europe!”

Blinking a couple of times, Stiles stared at Jackson, then over at the others. Lydia was awkwardly fidgeting with her jacket, which in itself was a strange thing to happen. Danny looked pained at the prospect of losing his best friend. Isaac had that hurt expression on his face; after already losing two pack mates, he didn't want to lose another. Peter looked amused. And Derek? He was indifferent. Not like he didn't care, but as though showing how much he cared would break him. Frowning annoyed, Stiles walked over to Jackson and flipped his nose.

“What did you do that for?”, grunted the co-captain of the lacrosse team irritated, rubbing his nose.

“That's what you do with insolent pups”, huffed Stiles and shook his head. “Your parents want to leave the country and you think running away is a solution? Seriously? You're underage. Don't you think that kind of behavior is going to make them feel right about their decision?”

Jackson averted his eyes a little embarrassed as he realized his childish behavior. “Well, uh...”

“Yeah. Well, uh”, snorted Stiles and shook his head, turning around to leave. “Danny. Heel.”

“The dog jokes, I swear I will kill him if he doesn't stop”, muttered Jackson, rolling his eyes.

“You shut up. Danny and I will go fix your mess”, warned Stiles, waving one threatening finger at him before turning to Derek. “And you, make sure your pups are bathed and ready when I return.”

“Why?”, asked Isaac confused.

“Well”, started Derek, rubbing his neck. “I know I failed Boyd and Erica when it came to control. But Stiles managed to teach Scott how to control his wolf within less than a day. So I asked him for help. Seeing as a full moon is approaching, you will train with him today.”

“A human teaching werewolves to control themselves?”, snorted Jackson ridiculed.

“I can not wait to see that”, grinned Peter delighted. “I even bought popcorn for it!”

 

/break\

 

“This was _officially_ the most awkward conversation I've ever had in my life... And I explained to my five year old baby brother what gay means...”, muttered Danny exhausted.

He ran a hand over his face and looked over at Stiles next to him. The human was only mildly upset by the looks of it, his focus on the street as he drove them away from the Whittemore property.

“I want to kick Jackson in the balls for putting me through this”, sighed Stiles.

“He didn't make you go”, pointed Danny out with one raised eyebrow. “You heard what happened and decided all on your own that you should take care of this problem. Not saying that it wasn't a brilliant idea, because the way it looks, it actually worked. Just saying...”

“Yeah, I know what you're saying”, huffed Stiles, waving the wolf off. “I don't know what's going on with me these days either... It's just... it's like... I feel responsible for this pack. I mean, I don't want anything to happen to any of us... I... When I was in Gerard's basement, I was so... helpless...”

“He has been trained to kill”, said Danny softly. “That's what Isaac told me. You couldn't have taken him on in a fight. It was better to take the beating than get involved in something... worse...”

“No. It's not about me”, muttered Stiles and shook his head. “I'm used to being pushed around. You know Jackson wasn't always this friendly. And Scott, during the full moon, well, he had his fair share of 'Let's kill Stiles'-moments too... Derek too, by the way. He can be really pushy and bodily harmful if he wants to be. That wasn't it. I can handle that. Physical pain. It was... It was just laying there and having to watch Erica and Boyd getting tortured... I was... so helpless... I couldn't help them... It... It felt so much like watching my mom die... Just sitting next to her and holding her hand while she slowly fades away without anything that I could do to change that. I hate this feeling. It's the worst feeling on this planet. I never want to feel like that again. So yeah, maybe I'm trying to solve all the little problems this pack has, maybe I'm trying to take care of everything that is within my reach. Because I'm not a wolf. I don't have the strength, enhanced senses or instincts to help out in a real battle or a fight or a... hostage situation... But I want to be helpful, I want to help them, I don't... I don't want to feel useless again.”

Danny stared a little surprised at that. The pain in Stiles' eyes was deep. He had never heard the sheriff's son talk about his mother before. Or about these kind of insecurities. Somehow he felt like asking why Stiles hadn't taken the bite then, but that seemed like an awfully personal question here, as though there was a deeply seated answer that needed discovering, but wasn't quite ready yet. Giving Stiles a small smile, Danny patted the human's thigh.

“How about we take a detour to the shopping mall, you and me? Milkshakes on me.”

After that awful conversation with Jackson's adoptive parents, they really deserved a sweet treat. When the Whittemores had opened the door to find one of the boys they had gotten a restraining order against, they had been very short of calling the sheriff. Which was the reason Stiles had taken Jackson's oldest and best friend with him. Reasoning with logic and smiles and Danny's charm, they had talked the Whittemores down from moving away to London. They had argued that Jackson was feeling insecure about his heritage, about his real parents and their death, that it was causing this emotional turmoil within the teen. And shipping Jackson off away from the friends that were giving him the much needed support during this time, as well as putting an ocean between Jackson and the graves of his biological parents, was a very unhelpful idea. It had taken quite some time and smiles and arguing before they had won, but in the end, the Whittemores couldn't really disagree any longer that running from Jackson's problems wouldn't solve them.

“I don't know... I told Derek to keep the pups in line until I'm home”, frowned Stiles.

“I think dad can handle the kids alone for a little while longer, mom”, huffed Danny and rolled his eyes affectionately. “You sound like my mom when she'd leave my father alone with my siblings.”

“We're an alternate, modern patchwork-pack, what do you expect?”, huffed Stiles, hitting Danny's shoulder. “We lack an Alpha female and with a bunch of teenagers, we can't expect Derek to raise you lot all alone, can we? Poor guy would go crazy. He had been overwhelmed by three pack members before. But now? Better not risk anything.”

“Wait”, frowned Danny and blinked a couple of times. “I was just joking... You mean, you're aware of that? Isaac, Jackson and I figured out that it was something you do because you're, well, you...”

“I've been dealing with this supernatural crap long enough to know that Derek needs a little supervision and guidance, or else he'll pull a Dark Knight and try to save Gotham all on his own”, huffed Stiles, shaking his head. “He's been a lone wolf for too long to really know how to work in a team. He had lost his pack too long ago to remember how to really work with a pack at his side. I'm not saying that I'm in any way qualified, but in the past months, I think I did pretty well looking through the supernatural schemes and helping Derek and Scott save the day. As long as Derek lets me do this, I will help him. At least until he finds his mate. The rightful Alpha female of our pack.”

“I misjudged you”, hummed Danny as they reached the mall. “I always thought you were a clumsy goof. Well, you are a goof and you are relatively clumsy most of the times. But... you're really thoughtful. I'm sorry I never took the time to get to know you better before.”

“Don't go all sentimental on me”, huffed Stiles, bumping shoulders with Danny. “Milkshakes?”

The wolf grinned down at his human pack mate, wrapping one arm around Stiles' shoulders as he guided the sheriff's son over to the milk bar. For the first time, Danny kept Stiles talking. He wanted to learn more about his pack mate. Danny listened to Stiles' version of what had happened in the past months in Beacon Hills. He already knew Jackson and Lydia's version, as well as Derek and Isaac's. But Stiles had a slightly different story to tell, had lived through it from a different angle. What Stiles had to tell was interesting, sometimes he got sidetracked by his own thoughts, but that was what made it all the more amusing to listen to Stiles.

“Okay so... Milkshake was good, but we really should get going before Derek sends out a search party for us”, suggested Stiles with a look at the clock and stood.

“Mh... No”, grinned Danny mischievously. “There's one more thing we need to do.”

 

/break\

 

“I'll go and look for them”, growled Derek, flexing his claws nervously.

“Derek”, sighed Isaac from where he was sitting on the couch. “Danny send me a message, saying they had to do something else too. They'll be on their way soon. Don't worry.”

The Alpha gritted his teeth annoyed. He didn't like that Stiles and Danny were gone so long even though Stiles had made it sound that they would return soon. Now that he was staying in a proper home again, together with Isaac and Peter, he was starting to feel the effect of being separated from his pack more than ever before. Then again, in the train depot, he had been with Isaac, Boyd and Erica, with all his Betas. Now he needed to wait for Jackson, Lydia, Danny and Stiles to drop by every so often. It was driving him insane a bit, because he wanted to know them safe all the time, his inner wolf demanded it. Especially with the threat of the Alpha pack hanging over their heads.

“We're home!”, called Stiles' voice as the two finally arrived back.

Relief flooded Derek as he heard the laughter of his two missing pack mates. Having them here together, all of them, was the most content feeling he knew. Seeing his pack safe was important.

“Finally”, grunted Derek displeased, glaring at the door he knew they would soon enter through. “Where have you two been anyway? You just left like that without much of an explanation.”

“Good news is; We talked to Jackson's parents and sorted everything out. There won't be any British Jackson anytime soon”, called Stiles over to them. “They saw reason. After a while.”

Jackson and Lydia straightened up from their spots on the couch, their fingers linked in silent glee. Isaac grinned broadly as he leaned back against the couch more. He had known Stiles would fix this. It was just a thing he knew, just like he knew that Derek would protect them, he knew that Stiles would take care of them. Derek was still staring at the door expectantly, glaring accusingly. At least until the door actually opened and Danny and Stiles entered. The human boy was looking so proud as he came to stand in front of them all with spread arms, spinning around in circles.

“Look what we got him on our way back”, grinned Danny amused as he sat down next to Isaac.

Blinking slowly, Derek took everything in. The smell of leather and Stiles, mixed as the boy was wearing a red leather jacket. It was nicely form fitting and it even had an additional hood, reminding Derek of that infatuating red hoodie Stiles liked to wear.

“You're Red Riding Hood”, pointed Lydia unimpressed out. “But the jacket looks good on you.”

“Thanks”, grinned Stiles, pulling the hood over his head and spinning again. “It was Danny's idea. He said that since you got blue, I should get a colorful one too, as a human pack member.”

“And it's red because... you're Red Riding Hood and we're the big, bad wolves?”, asked Jackson.

Stiles huffed and stuck his tongue out at the wolf. “Shut up, Jackson. I happen to like red.”

“Now that we discussed Stiles' wardrobe, can we start with the puppy training?”, asked Peter bored from where he was standing in the kitchen. “My popcorn needs five more minutes though.”

“So... Stilinski, how are you going to do this?”, grunted Jackson, crossing his arms.

“With Derek's and Peter's help – yes, you will help, you won't just sit there and eat popcorn”, started Stiles and passed the wolves to get to the window door that led to their garden. “Now come.”

Once outside, he placed Danny and Jackson next to each other, but with some space between them, positioning Lydia and Isaac opposite their respective mates. A slightly pouty Peter and a curious Derek stepped up to come and stand next to Stiles and between the mated pairs.

“What's next, teacher?”, snorted Jackson unimpressed.

He didn't like not knowing, he always needed to be the best. And he couldn't be the best if he didn't know something. Stiles gave him a hard glare for the question, taking a couple of steps back to stand between Lydia and Isaac, out of reach of the other four werewolves.

“Well, we need to provoke the two of you”, started Stiles slowly. “That's what Derek and Peter are here for. They have wolf healing. It was already dangerous enough to teach Scott, I'm not taking two of you on at once. When I taught Scott, I provoked him with physical pain... it wakens the instincts best, because if a werewolf is in distress and pain, his inner wolf will try to reach out to defend himself. I threw lacrosse balls at his balls. Peter and Derek may get creative if they want.”

“Hold on”, grunted Jackson displeased. “You want them to hurt us? And then?”

“And then you two will try to keep cool. Hold onto your humanity”, said Stiles.

“Our humanity?”, frowned Danny confused. “The anchor? Isaac said something like that...”

“Yes, the anchor”, nodded the human boy, crossing his arms over his chest, shifting his weight.

“Derek taught us that... anger and hatred and pain can anchor us...”, mumbled Isaac slowly.

“And that didn't work now, did it?”, snorted Stiles, glaring daggers at the back of Derek's head. “See, I knew you'd have such a shitty approach to this! That's why I didn't allow Scott to learn from you. I knew you'd teach him shit. And I was right. What a surprise.”

“Stiles”, growled Derek in a low voice. “Stop rubbing it in, or I will throw lacrosse balls at _yours_.”

“What did you tell Scott to concentrate on then?”, smiled Danny peaceable.

“Allison”, replied Stiles simply. “Not that you two are to focus on Allison now, that wouldn't work. But Allison is Scott's anchor, his mate. Her presence, her voice, her touch, it soothed the wolf within. So you will do the same. While Derek and Peter will provoke you, you will focus on Lydia and Isaac. Concentrate on the sounds of their heartbeats, their breathing, their scents, so you can stay human, whatever may happen.”

“So we basically just need to always stay with our mates during the full moon... and every other situation where we could maybe accidentally wolf out? Piece of cake”, snorted Jackson.

“Stop questioning me, will you?”, huffed Stiles with a glare. “We'll start slow. Lydia and Isaac will be here, within reach. Then we'll make it harder for you. They'll get indoors, so you'll have to sharpen your senses without wolfing out. The hardest stage is doing this without Lydia and Isaac here. You'll have to concentrate on the memories you have of them. That is the really hard part, if you have to remember nice things while being in pain. But the love, the mate bond, it will keep you human, it will keep you anchored.”

“Oh, this is going to be fun. I want Jackson”, smirked Peter wickedly, flexing his claws. “Danny has that whole nice boy thing going on, I don't think I can harm him...”

The former Alpha actually looked upset at that, glaring at the smiling Hawaiian boy. Derek turned to glare at Stiles one last time. The boy was really looking good in that red leather jacket and with that cheeky grin attached to his lips. Stiles was proud. To be there, to be allowed to teach the pups something, to be part of this pack. It made Derek proud too. He was including his mate in raising the pups and his mate was taking to it naturally. The pride died down some as Derek frowned. Stiles couldn't be his mate. He was a minor, the son of the sheriff, a human and way too good for Derek. Derek didn't get nice things. Whenever Derek wanted something nice, someone else came and broke it just to hurt Derek. Paige. His family. _Kate_. Laura. His new pack, two of his first Betas. Everything good and beautiful in his life got ripped apart in front of his eyes, torn beyond recognition. Every morning since moving into this house, when he woke up, the first room he went to was not the bathroom or the kitchen, it was Isaac's room. He needed to make sure that Isaac was still there, that no one had taken him like they had taken Boyd and Erica from him. If Stiles was his mate, then something horrible would happen to the boy. They would take him away from Derek, they would hurt him, they would break him. Maybe not the Alpha pack, but someone would. Gerard had tried. Because someone always did. And Derek would never let anyone harm Stiles again.


	9. Moving

Chapter 8: Moving

 

The past week had been fun, in a certain, exhausting way. The pack had worked together to make the new Hale house more of a home and by now everything was in place and it looked actually pretty cozy. Stiles approved of that. He especially approved of the library and the stoked fridge.

“You look pleased”, noted Peter amused.

“Totally am. Derek did good”, nodded Stiles in approval. “Where is the Sourwolf anyway?”

“He took the cubs out for a run, didn't he tell you, mom? Such a bad husband.”

“Do you ever grow tired of your own stupid jokes?”, sighed Stiles and shook his head. “But I suppose it's better if I don't take Derek with me anyway. You'll do fine. Perfect, even. Come.”

The adult gave him an inquisitive and unimpressed look. “I'm not your lapdog, Stiles.”

“Peter, heel. Now”, huffed Stiles and waved his hands. “You'll come with me to the Argents.”

Much to Stiles' amusement did the wolf obey him right away. Not in an eager puppy way, but in that disinterested, slow pace as though he simply didn't have anything else to do. He couldn't fool Stiles though. After all, the human knew exactly why he wanted to take Peter with him.

“I am only accompanying you because my dear nephew would have my head if something happened to his precious... human”, drawled Peter bored. “Why are we going to the hunters?”

The way Peter said 'human' made it sound as though he actually wanted to say something else. Stiles dismissed it for now. If he would question every weird thing Peter did, he would be busy all day. And he in fact had other things to do. Mostly, pack things.

“We're helping them move”, replied Stiles. “I promised Chris. Him and Allison found an apartment and they are _finally_ moving out of the motel. I figured some supernatural strength would help. But it's not like they have many possessions at the moment, so you'll be enough, I guess.”

Peter nodded silently, regarding him with one of his all-seeing looks, as though he tried to figure Stiles out. Good luck with that. Half the time, Stiles didn't even know what Stiles was doing. The two of them got into Stiles' car in silence and started driving, also in silence. Not for long though.

“Tell me about Chris”, prompted Stiles, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

“He's a hunter, lost his father, sister and wife recently, has a rather annoying daughter with a mild mental disorder, I'd say. Anything else you want to know?”, asked Peter, humoring him.

“How long have you known that he's your mate?”, asked Stiles in the most serious voice he could muster, staring straight ahead onto the road. “And don't growl at me. I think this important for the pack. Boyd and Erica have each other. Jackson and Lydia. Danny and Isaac. A mate is important to a wolf. You and Derek are the only wolves in our pack without a mate, so I think that if one of you finds their mate, then the pack should... know. The mate is both, the greatest strength and also the greatest weakness of a wolf. Now, Chris. When?”

He stared at Peter intensely and the wolf wasn't sure if Stiles was even aware of the commanding tone and the intense look he was using on Peter. Squinting, Peter stared into Stiles' eyes. Shaking his head, Peter turned away. For a second, he could have sworn... But no, Stiles was human.

“When Kate and Derek were dating”, answered Peter lowly, finding himself unable to disobey Stiles' request. “Chris brought them home after they had been out one day and... the wolf within me knew. The wolf knows it the second you meet your mate. I knew.”

“So... a wolf really knows it as soon as they see their mate...?”, whispered Stiles surprised. “And you and Chris... I mean, did you ever... Did you tell him?”

“We... used to go out. Secretly. Sneaking around”, chuckled Peter, staring wistfully out the window. “I wanted to tell him. But then... Kate. You know what happened. It left me paralyzed for years. And Chris moved on, married the huntress his father had chosen for him. How much I always hated Victoria. But I suppose without me in the way, Chris stopped objecting to his father's match-making. Look, Stiles, I would appreciate it if you would keep out of my business, yes?”

“I think it is my business too, Peter”, answered Stiles softly. “We're pack and... as far as I've read, being separated from your mate _hurts_ , mentally and physically. That's... why you killed Laura, isn't it? Because it had driven you mad to lay in that hospital without seeing your mate at all. You know that Derek... he is a born wolf too, he knows these things better than I do. He would understand. Why have you never told him? And... have you spoken to Chris yet? About it?”

“He was married and then he was widowed”, stated Peter as though that was an answer.

Nodding slowly, Stiles dropped the topic for now. He had other things to think about now too. A wolf knew his mate the moment they saw? Well, it made sense. Looking back at Scott and Allison. The two remained quiet for the rest of the drive to the motel. Once there, Peter followed Stiles up to the Argents' room. Stiles watched in mild amusement the glare exchange between Chris and Peter, the new information on their past making him look at them in a whole different light.

“I told you I'd bring some supernatural help”, grinned Stiles broadly.

He walked past the two men still engaged in a staring contest and walked over to Allison. The looked better, a little less sleepless and her smile was nearly genuine. Maybe things could go back to normal in the future. The tension in the air made this the most awkward afternoon Stiles had spend in quite a while. Still, the longing glances Peter threw at Chris every time Chris wasn't looking were kind of adorable. He was like a puppy staring at a steak he wanted to steal. Loading Stiles' car as well as Chris', the four of them managed to fit everything into the two cars. Stiles walked over to Chris while Allison was checking out and Chris was putting the last heavy pieces of weaponry into the trunk of the hunter's car. Chris glared suspiciously at Stiles.

“I would like for Allison to drive with me. Can you take Peter with you?”

“Why?”, asked the hunter annoyed. “You know, for a teenager, you're quite demanding here.”

“Well, the overall consensus in the pack seems to be that, for the time being, I'm the temporary... pack mom. With how much our pack has grown, Derek needs the backup, even without a mate. And I took charge”, replied Stiles softly. “So for now, I'm the second in command of the pack. And in that position, I would like to spend a little time with Allison to see... how she's doing.”

“Your arguments are good”, nodded Chris, even more annoyed. “Still I wonder how a human got accepted into this position by the wolves. I think I never heard of such a thing before.”

“What can I say? I'm special like that”, grunted Stiles with a little attitude. “Oh, Allison! Come! You drive with me. After all, I don't know the way.”

The huntress who had just returned to the parking lot did look less than pleased by that, but after a short conversation through glances with her father, she joined Stiles in his car. At first, she didn't even give him proper directions, only pointing the way. He understood her reluctance. Jackson and Isaac were more than hostile toward her and Derek more so than anyone else. Stiles was part of the pack, so she probably thought he was on the opposing side.

“Lydia misses you”, stated Stiles after a little while. “She wonders how you are. How _are_ you?”

“I'm fine”, answered Allison softly, running her hand through her hair.

“Yeah? How fine is fine?”, asked Stiles cautiously. “I mean-”

“You mean that I'm still a danger to your pack?”, snorted Allison with a glare.

“No. I mean that you lost your mother and I know how much it hurts to lose your mom.”

At that, Allison went silent and averted her eyes. “I... Don't know. I mean, how do you deal with that? She died at Derek's claws, Stiles. C—Can you really hold it against me that I hate him...?”

“Derek didn't mean to kill her”, replied Stiles, trying to sound soothing and calm. “Your mother attacked Scott. She nearly killed him with wolfsbane. Derek was Scott's Alpha at the time, he only did everything in his powers to protect his Beta. I understand what it feels like to lose your mother, but I am more than grateful that Derek saved Scott. I know you don't want to hear that about your mother, but she... brought it upon herself. And she didn't have to die. She could have turned into a wolf, learned to control herself. She _chose_ to die, instead of trying.”

“How is Scott?”, asked Allison, her facial expression not indicating what she was thinking.

Stiles cocked an eyebrow. Well, she most likely needed time to digest. He would need time to digest if he'd learn such a thing. Shaking his head, Stiles took the bait for a topic change.

“I think he's doing good. Without you and me and an evil force to distract him, he's finally focusing on his studies. He's doing everything to be... better next year”, answered Stiles softly. “What about you? And this time, I mean the whole breakup situation.”

“I'm doing fine”, smiled Allison with the faintest blush. “I met a boy when dad and I visited that real-estate agent. And he asked me out for a coffee. It's not like I fell head over heels in love right away, but... it's nice to talk to someone who's not biased by what happened in the past year. Someone who doesn't see me as a huntress, but just as a... girl. He's sweet.”

“What's his name?”, asked Stiles curiously, tilting his head.

“Aiden.”

 

/break\

 

Yawning widely, Stiles parked the car in front of his house and slowly got out. An afternoon with Peter and the Argents surely qualified for the most exhausting thing possible. And it troubled him. Allison met a boy? Well, she was human, she didn't feel the mate-bond in the same way as Scott. For now, Stiles supposed that Allison deserved someone who didn't look at her as though she was a lunatic. A little distraction. Stiles just had to make sure that this Aiden guy won't get between Scott and Allison on the long run. Wow, maybe he needed a private life that did  _not_ resolve around the pack too. He felt as though everything he had done in the past weeks – no, actually months – had been about the pack. When was the last time he had done something for himself?

“Hello, cutey.”

Blinking doe-eyed, Stiles locked his car and turned around in slow-motion. “What?”

Behind him stood a tall guy with ginger hair, broad muscles and a crooked smile – and  _cheekbones_ . Stiles had a thing for cheekbones. Gulping slightly, he took another look. The guy grinned.

“I said hello, cutey”, repeated the guy.

Stiles turned around one time, looking for someone else. “To who?”

“To you”, snorted the ginger amused and rolled his eyes.

“Uhm... Okay?”, nodded Stiles, suppressing the question _Why_.

“I'm Ethan”, said the ginger, thrusting his hand out for Stiles to shake. “My family and I just moved in on the other side of the street. My _dear_ family suggested I should introduce myself, we're probably going to attend the same high school, after all.”

He pointed over his shoulder with the hand not held out for Stiles. Stiles eyes followed the suggestion to see two adults and a guy who looked from that distance kind of exactly like Ethan unloading a truck, another one with sunglasses was sitting on a cardboard box. Sunglasses? During that time of day? It was practically dark outside.

“Are you going to shake my hand and tell me your name anytime soon?”, asked Ethan amused.

“Right. Sorry”, mumbled Stiles and blushed, shaking Ethan's hand. “I'm Stiles. Nice to meet you. I didn't even know the house was already sold. Huh. And it's kind of late to be moving...”

“You're inquisitive”, noted Ethan, cocking one eyebrow.

“Yeah, son of the sheriff, sorry”, grinned Stiles sheepishly.

“It's okay. I like that. Asking is better than talking behind other people's backs”, grunted Ethan and shook his head. “My brother and I get _that_ a lot, you know.”

“Why is that?”, asked Stiles curiously and leaned against his car more relaxed.

“We're living with our foster parents, Kali and Ennis and Ennis' older brother”, answered Ethan softly, a hurt expression on his face. “At our old school, they couldn't stop gossiping about our family, just because we're... well, not like other families, I guess. And always the whispers about what may have happened to our real parents and such. It's why we moved here. A new start.”

“A new start is good”, smiled Stiles softly.

He understood what a family unlike any other family felt like. It was the feeling the pack gave him. Unorthodox, but that didn't make them any less of a family. He didn't want to pry any more into Ethan's private life than he already had, even though he would really like to know what exactly had happened to the other boy's parents. There was a little sheriff in him, as Lydia liked to tease him these days. His eyes wandered over to Ethan's family. The woman was relatively pretty, with long dark hair. And... bare feet. Stiles cocked an eyebrow. Her husband – judging by the way the two interacted with each other – looked a little grumpy. And then there was the blind guy. The moment Stiles looked at him, the man turned his head as though he was staring directly into Stiles' soul. That guy was giving him the creeps worse than Peter and Gerard together. Shuddering slightly, Stiles averted his eyes again, just to see Ethan's hand thrust at him once more.

“More shaking?”, asked Stiles confused.

“No”, chuckled Ethan and opened his palm, holding a piece of paper. “My number.”

“Huh?”, grunted the sheriff's son, tilting his head.

“So you can, you know, call me”, explained Ethan, running his free hand through his short hair so it pointed up some. “Maybe we could... go and drink a coffee or something? It would be nice to know someone before the school year starts. And it would be nice to know the town a little. Like, where are the best burgers, the best coffee, stuff like that. Maybe you could show me around some?”

“Sure. I can do that”, grinned Stiles and took the number.

“Then we have a date”, smirked Ethan and turned around.

“Wait, what?”, grunted Stiles and stared wide-eyed. “You mean like, hanging out?”

“No, I mean like I just invited you to a coffee and you said yes to going out with me date, cutey.”

Stiles stared with eyes even wider than before at the retreating form of his new neighbor. So he had been hit on. By a guy. A hot guy. A hot guy with cheekbones. Damn, he really liked sharp cheekbones. Like Derek's. Suddenly Stiles' face fell and he stared down at the number. Stuffing the paper into his pocket, he climbed back into his car and let the engine roar.

 

/break\

 

Scott was laying on his bed, reading  _A Tale of Two Towns_ with mild interest. This was not how he had pictured spending his summer. Not even three months ago, he would have pictured to spend the summer sneaking around with Allison and playing video games with Stiles and Isaac.

“Hey, Scott, we need to talk.”

“Argh! Jesus, Stiles. Stop doing that!”, exclaimed Scott as he fell off the bed. “Why do you keep climbing through the window? Are you like a were-monkey...? Can't you use the door?”

Stiles, still sitting on the window-sill, frowned before shaking his head. “No. Or maybe I spend too much time with the wolves. Anyway, I really need your help, buddy.”

“You need my help?”, asked Scott, slowly putting his book down and sitting up. “What's wrong?”

Stiles sighed and jumped off the window-sill to walk over to Scott and sit down next to his friend in front of the bed. “Let's say back then when you just had fallen in love with Allison, that she wouldn't have returned your feelings, leaving you like sitting there, longing for her, yeah?”

“Eh... Okay...? Yeah”, nodded Scott slowly, highly confused.

“And you know she doesn't return your feelings, but then there suddenly is another girl that seems interested in you and she's just really beautiful, okay?”, continued Stiles, gesturing widely.

“Uhu”, nodded Scott unsure.

“What would you have done?”, asked Stiles, pulling his legs up to his chest. “I mean, you're obviously maddeningly in love with Allison, but she would like _never_ be with you and then there is someone who would be very interested in being with you. Would you... do it? Go out with the other girl, I mean. Would you go out with the other girl, even though you're really in love with someone else, but that someone else doesn't return your feelings?”

“Oh...”, stammered Scott, his eyes widening in realization. “I know what this is about.”

“Y—You do?”, asked Stiles, horror written all over his face.

“Sure!”, exclaimed Scott with a broad grin, nudging Stiles. “This is about Lydia.”

“What...?”, grunted Stiles flatly, frowning confused.

“You're finally ready to move on from her. Come on, I know you've been in love with her for years, but with Jackson, there is no way she'll ever be with you”, elaborated Scott, grinning impishly. “And now a girl caught your fancy and you don't know if you should ask her out, right?”

Stiles frowned. He hadn't been in love with Lydia for a while now, not since Lydia's epic love for Jackson had broken the kanima curse. Even he knew when to give up. But he had never gotten around to tell Scott about his slowly growing feelings for their local Sourwolf. Feelings, Stiles had to admit, that had been growing for months now, ever since his not so wanted swim with Derek in the pool while being kanima bait. He knew why he had never told his best friend. Because Scott and Derek weren't exactly best friends and Stiles would have to listen to an ear full of preaching.

“Yeah. Sure. Let's go with that”, muttered Stiles to himself and nodded. “Yeah. So, what do I do?”

“Well, Lydia will never love you, man, and I'm really sorry to say that”, answered Scott slowly, making a sour face as he felt for his friend. “But that other girl, she likes you?”

“Well... _she_ called me a 'cutey'”, confessed Stiles and blushed slightly. “And have me _her_ number.”

“Then give her a call”, grinned Scott and nudged Stiles.

“But I'm in love with someone else”, frowned Stiles. “It wouldn't be fair to... _her_.”

“But maybe you need the push to finally get over Lydia. Go on a date, have fun. Distract yourself”, replied Scott and shrugged. “I mean, you don't have to declare your undying love to the new girl right away. A date is a date. And maybe you just turn out to be friends. But Stiles, listen to me. The past months had been hell for all of us and so far, I've seen what you've tried to do for the pack, for me and for the Argents. You try helping everyone adjust and move on. Everyone aside from yourself. You deserve a little happiness too, man. You're like the greatest guy I know and if there is someone who genuinely is interested in you, why shouldn't you go on a date with her and bathe in the attention for at least one evening? You deserve your own distraction too. Your own moving on. And who knows, maybe you'll finally truly move on, get to know the girl and perhaps even fall in love with her. You'd deserve it. You really do, Stiles.”

Crossing his arms on top of his knees, Stiles rested his chin on them and stared out of the window at the slowly rising scythe of a moon. Scott was right. He deserved to be happy too, just like everybody else. And watching Jackson and Lydia as well as Danny and Isaac all the time was a pain in the ass. All those happy couples were making him jealous. He was obviously not Derek's mate, if a wolf knew the moment they saw their mate. After all, Derek had seen Stiles plenty of times by now and he still didn't give any kinds of feelings away. So why should he keep yearning after the Sourwolf that would one day find his true mate anyway and then break Stiles' heart into a thousand pieces? Maybe this was it. Stiles' thing. The thing he needed to do only for himself and not for the pack. Have a date. Go out. Be a teenager, instead of the local monster detector and pack mascot.

“You're right”, nodded Stiles slowly, turning to grin at Scott. “Yeah. You're right. I should call hi—her. But first, what do you say? Up for some _Call of Duty_? I haven't kicked your ass in a while.”

He wanted to tell Scott about Allison and her new (boy)friend. He wanted to go to Derek and tell him about Peter and Chris. There were so many things he wanted to fix for others. It was time to fix his own life for a change. But first, he really needed to kick Scott's ass. The wolf grinned at him.


	10. Returned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Allison and Stiles find themselves on a double-date and Erica is being found!

Chapter 9: Returned

 

Stiles shifted the fries around on his plate, awkwardly staring down at them. At least until Ethan next to him grabbed his hand and nudged him slightly. Blushing, Stiles looked up.

“So... the two of you seem to know each other and not in a good way judging by the awkward silence”, commented Ethan's twin brother opposite them. “And here we thought it would be nice to go on a double date, meet each other's significant other to know more people...”

Stiles' blush darkened upon being called Ethan's 'significant other'. Who in their right mind said stuff like that? Especially after dating for two weeks! Tilting his head, Stiles stared at the girl opposite him. Allison. At least she looked as uncomfortable as he felt. What a relief.

“She's the ex of my best friend. Makes things a little more... complicated”, replied Stiles smoothly.

And awkward. Very awkward. Stiles couldn't help but stare at Aiden and Allison. It was weird to see the girl he knew to be Scott's mate kissing a guy who looked exactly like his own boyfriend. Wow. He had a boyfriend. An actual, real, proper boyfriend. It was a thought that still amazed him, even after two weeks, five dates and countless way too cheesy messages (facebook, e-mail, SMS, really any way of communication was okay as long as it was there). It was sweet. It was nice to have someone all to himself. The pack was a lot of work and they didn't spend much time with him these days, so it was nice to have Ethan there for him. Derek did things with the pack. Non human things. They patrolled all the time these days, because even though the Alphas seemed to be able to mask their scents most of the time, there were traces of Alpha in Beacon Hills every now and then. It was riling the Alpha within Derek up. So the pack patrolled Beacon Hills in sets of two. Derek and Peter, Jackson and Danny, Isaac and Scott (and oh, it had made Stiles so happy that Scott had _asked_ to help the pack with it!). With the tight schedule of patrolling, the pack had no time to spare for the pack human. And Lydia was on a 'fun vacation' with her parents, who seemed to be feeling guilty about the past year. Now, with all of his friends – his pack – being busy without him, he felt even better about Ethan. It was easy being with the other boy. No worries about the supernatural, no kanima or hunter looming over Stiles' thoughts, just being a regular teenager with his regular boyfriend. Again with the boyfriend part, making him grin like an idiot.

“I'm sorry about that, Stiles”, whispered Ethan once they finally left the restaurant.

“Not your fault. How should you have known?”, chuckled Stiles softly, taking Ethan's hand.

“I guess you're right”, snorted Ethan. “Not like I know that 'best friend' of yours. Or any of your friends. You know, Stiles, I start feeling like your dirty, little secret.”

The teasing smile looked way too good on Ethan's face. Rolling his eyes, he pressed the ginger against the Jeep and kissed him fiercely. Ethan grunted a little surprised, but rested his hands possessively on Stiles' hips. That was probably Stiles' favorite thing about Ethan. The other boy was damn possessive, always made Stiles feel as though he belonged. Stiles yelped slightly as Ethan lifted him off the ground without much trouble and placed him on the hood of the Jeep. Another thing Stiles really liked about Ethan; the other boy could manhandle him with ease. The ginger came to stand between Stiles' legs, his hands still on the other boy's hips, slowly wandering down to caress Stiles' thighs as Stiles wrapped his arms around Ethan's neck. Not that they had done anything more than kissing and groping so far, because something always interrupted. As if on cue, the ginger's phone buzzed. Grunting annoyed, Ethan pulled it out of his pants. Stiles would prefer it if his boyfriend would be pulling something else out of his pants.

“Mom called. One of our... dogs ran away. She wants me to help searching for it”, sighed Ethan annoyed as he read the message. “I'm really sorry, Stiles. But those dogs mean a lot to my uncle.”

“Dear uncle Deucalion”, muttered Stiles sweetly. “Wouldn't want to anger him.”

“Stiles”, whispered Ethan and leaned in, kissing the corner of Stiles' mouth softly. “I'm sorry.”

“I know”, sighed Stiles disappointed. “Go. Just go. But you are _so_ going to make it up to me.”

“You know I will”, smirked the ginger and turned around to leave. “Thanks for being awesome.”

Stiles smiled strained. He would never have sex at this rate. Then again, in a weird way it was also always a relief when they got interrupted once it got heated. Because as much as he wanted it while being with Ethan, once he was on his own again, all Stiles could think of was Derek and he felt miserable for even kissing Ethan. Which was incredibly stupid, because there was nothing between him and Derek and there probably would never be. Derek didn't care. Great, after the not awesome date and the pretty awesome making out, he was back to the self-loathing again. Shaking his head, he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Just as he wanted to leave, Allison caught up to him.

“So... Your twin dumped you too?”, asked Stiles sympathetically.

“Yeah”, nodded the huntress slowly. “I thought... we could... I don't know, take a walk. Talk.”

They were pretty far off from the city center. He knew this part of town. The old, abandoned bank was a couple of blocks away, him and Scott used to play there when they were small. Cops and robbers. Something drew him closer. The fond memories? Shaking his head, he did what he did best. Following his gut. Allison trailed after him, telling him about her relationship with Aiden. Even though it felt awkward at first, it was also nice to finally have someone he could talk to about Ethan. He didn't dare tell his pack yet, not just because of the coming out that would inevitably follow, but more so because he felt, in a weird way, as though he'd disappoint them by not... Not what? Not hopelessly sitting around and waiting for the impossible? For Derek Hale to declare his undying love to Stiles? Still, they were a _pack_ and bringing a stranger into this mess was a no-go. Just before he could elaborate that, he got interrupted. By a bleeding blonde, collapsing at their feet.

“H—Hey, Batman...”, gasped a raspy yet familiar voice.

Stiles' eyes widened even more, his heart speeding up in what he knew was a nearing panic attack. Erica. A bleeding, panting, whimpering Erica that looked short of passing out. Hastily gathering himself, Stiles stood, one of Erica's arms around his shoulders, his own arms around her waist to steady her. After an indicating glare at Allison did the huntress react too, supporting Erica from the other side. She was bleeding so much and from so many different places, it was as though her whole body was crusted with blood. It made his guts twist. To him, it felt like hours before they reached his Jeep. And even longer until Erica was sitting on the back seat.

“S—Stiles”, whined Erica, her voice broken. “Hurts... much... P—Pack...”

“Sh, it's okay, pup”, cooed Stiles softly, gripping her tightly with one hand, the other caressing Erica's hair softly. “It's alright. I'll bring you to see the rest of the pack. You're safe now. You're with pack, you'll be okay. I promise. J—Just, hang on, please. Stay with me.”

Erica stared at him with half-lid eyes before they slowly closed. Stiles panicked. If she fell asleep, she may... may never wake up again. His breathing sped up, his hands started to shake. Fuck. If he would have a panic attack now, he'd crash them into a wall and Erica would be beyond help. He couldn't drive. Right now, he couldn't even really breath. The thought of him being at fault for Erica's death in that version made him only panic more, so he did the first thing he could think of, the first thing that would make him feel safe again. He tried to get his phone, his hands shaking.

“S—Stiles?”, asked Allison unsure, cautiously helping the short-breathed boy into the car.

She wasn't sure what was going on, but it looked as though Stiles was about to pass out, his eyes wide and panicked. Unsure what to do, she grabbed his keys and his phone. She guessed that he surely had either Scott or his dad on speed dial number one, so she tried her luck while starting the Jeep. She needed to talk to someone who'd know what to do with Stiles right now and she needed to bring Erica some place safe. Deaton's. Deaton would know how to help. If Erica was to die while Allison was close, then Derek would surely rip her throat out. She prayed for Scott to pick up.

 

/break\

 

“You're going to walk a hole into the floor, Derek”, pointed Peter out, staring amused at his nephew.

The four pups sprawled over the couch whined in agreement. Jackson sat relatively upright, while Isaac was truly sprawled all over Danny, with his feet resting in Scott's lap. The Omega was not quite sure about being there, but after another round of useless Alpha-chase, the pack had invited him over for pizza and pack night. Something about feeling as though they had been neglecting Stiles in the past week. Though Stiles was the only one missing – aside from Lydia. Derek, who had been pacing the living room ever since the pack arrived at the Hale house, growled loudly. The wolf within him was clawing to get free, furious that Derek didn't know where his mate was. Ever since Derek had confronted the fact that Stiles was his mate and had decided for himself to protect Stiles by not acknowledging that fact, his inner wolf was slowly going crazy. Especially with the threat of the Alpha pack somewhere within his territory. It was why he drove the pack so hard these days. And why he had kept Stiles away for now. Because the Alpha pack was a dangerous threat and not even his Betas would be enough to fight them, much less his very human mate. If they would get to Stiles, would hurt Stiles, then Derek would lose it. The sudden ringing of his phone ripped him out of his thoughts. Growling annoyed, he grabbed the device. The glare melted slowly into a face of indifference as he saw the caller ID, even though he knew his inner wolf was wagging his tail.

“Stiles, where are you?”, grunted Derek with his usual annoyance lacing his words.

“...Derek?”, asked a voice that certainly did not belong to Stiles.

“Argent?”, growled Derek darkly. “Where is Stiles? What did you do to him?”

“I—I don't know what's wrong with him, I think he's having a breakdown or something”, answered Allison, sounding honestly upset. “We found Erica and then Stiles nearly stopped breathing-”

At that, the pups and Peter sat up straighter, focusing their super hearing on the conversation between their Alpha and the Argent. While the other pups whined in distress upon hearing that, Scott instantly jumped off the couch and walked up to Derek, demanding the phone. Derek growled.

“He's having a panic attack”, answered Scott annoyed. “Look, I've seen that before.”

“What can I do, Scott?”, asked Allison helplessly. “I just... dialed his number one and...”

Scott adapted a calculating look, one rather untypical for him. But things started to fall into place. He knew that ever since the whole wolf-fiasco had started, he had been Stiles' number one. It seemed priorities had shifted. Still, Stiles was his best friend. So Derek had to prove himself.

“Give Stiles the phone”, ordered Scott. “Derek needs to talk him down from it.”

They could hear shuffling and rustling and then heavy breathing. Stiles. Frowning confused and feeling a little lost, Derek stared at the phone as though it had insulted him. “Calm down, Stiles.”

“You need to calm him, commanding him won't do it”, grunted Scott annoyed and glared.

Calming him down? How was Derek supposed to do that? Taking a breath, he did what he tried to avoid. He listened to his inner wolf. The wolf would know what to do, how to calm his mate.

“Stiles”, growled Derek, his voice low and the sound more tender than threatening for once. “You're okay. Whatever it is that makes you so afraid, it won't hurt you. I won't let it hurt you. You need to calm down so you can tell me what happened. Me and the pack will come as fast as possible. Our pack, Stiles. They're all fine and with me. Even Scott. We're alright, you're alright. Everything is fine, Stiles. Take a deep, slow breath. Slow your breathing down and talk to me, Stiles.”

“Derek”, whispered Stiles, still sounding a little breathless. “Oh god, Derek. I—It's Erica. She just... collapsed at my feet. A—And she's bleeding and hurt and oh god, what if she's dying on me and I can't do anything to help her? A—Allison is driving us to Deaton, but what if he's not there? Oh god, he's not going to be there, it's way too late and then no one will be there to help her and s—she'll die and she can't die! I—I can't help her, Derek. I don't know what to do. Derek, _I need you_.”

Derek had a hard time filtering all the information, but the last sentence struck him especially. His eyes found Scott's, glaring intensely. After more than a year of messy adventures with each other, Scott understood and took out his own phone to call Deaton.

“It's okay, Stiles”, assured Derek, walking toward the front door, the pups trailing over him. “Scott is calling Deaton. He'll be there. And we'll be there too. As long as you're with her, she will be fine. I know she will be, because you're not going to let her die. You're too stubborn for that.”

Stiles chocked slightly, a mixed sound between a sob and laughter. “Okay. But... hurry.”

“I'll be with you as soon as possible”, promised the Alpha.

 

/break\

 

Derek stumbled into the animal clinic, his heart racing. One of his Betas was in grave danger and his mate was panicking. His inner beast couldn't wait to be with them. Though once they were in one room with the others, he froze. Stiles looked like a caged animal, his eyes wide as Allison seemed to try and calm him with words, while Deaton was working on Erica. Erica. Derek's heart sped up. Isaac, Erica and Boyd had been the first members of his pack and even though he had _hoped_ , he couldn't fully believe that he would ever see Erica and Boyd again. Not alive at least. After all, why should a pack of Alphas kidnap two Betas? They were useless to them.

“Derek. Finally. If you could take Allison and Stiles out so I can do my work?”, grunted Deaton.

The veterinarian looked mildly amused and just as annoyed. Isaac was crouching beside the table, grasping Erica's shoulder and taking some of her pain. His connection to Erica and Boyd was stronger too and it was obvious that the shewolf was in a lot of pain. And upon noticing that, the other Betas each tried to somehow touch the blonde, connect with her. Comfort her as a pack and also to take her pain away. It was purely instinctual and Jackson looked mildly mortified at first. But he could feel the surge, the connection of pack. A comforting buzzing in the back of his mind that he had started to associate with the other members of his pack. With Jackson, Danny, Isaac and Scott squeezed together around the table, Derek cautiously pulled Stiles away from Allison.

“Stiles, calm down”, murmured the Alpha softly, hugging Stiles close to inhale his scent and make sure his mate wasn't hurt. “The pack is here. Deaton will do everything to save Erica. Come.”

“But only if you also manage to get your pups out of the room”, noted Peter amused.

“Those are wounds inflicted by an Alpha. Even with her healing, they will take longer. I need to properly take care of them. You have done enough”, assured Deaton, his voice soft.

It took a little longer to get Isaac, Jackson, Danny, Scott, Allison and Stiles out of the room and into the waiting room. Isaac, Jackson and Danny huddled close together, close to the door. Instinctual. Peter leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, an amused smirk on his lips as he looked between Derek and Stiles, as well as Scott and Allison. This promised to be interesting.

“Thanks”, whispered Stiles once he was calm again, resting his forehead against Derek's shoulder.

“It's okay”, assured Derek, strong arms around his mate. “Our pack is safe. You found her. She'll be fine, Deaton will fix her again and she will be fine because _you_ found her. You saved her.”

“Why were the two of you together though?”, asked Scott, tilting his head like a confused puppy.

“Erica just... collapsed in front of us when we were walking together, close to Peggy's Diner”, mumbled Stiles, feeling hallow and exhausted after the panic attack. “We just wanted fresh air.”

“Why were you together anyway?”, grunted Jackson skeptically. “Were you on a date?”

“Don't be ridiculous”, laughed Danny, shaking his head. “It's Stiles. You know how he's trying to include Scott and Mister Argent in pack-stuff. He's just bonding with Allison.”

“Is it just Allison, or is the general idea of me on a date so laughable?”, grunted Stiles offended.

“Well, if you ask like that...”, drawled Jackson with a taunting smirk.

“Why are you always being such an asshole to him? I thought that should change now that you're pack!”, asked Allison angered. “For your information, it _was_ a date.”

Scott gave a very pitiful and betrayed whine, staring big-eyed at Stiles. Stiles, who could feel Derek's arms tightening their grip on him to the point of being painful. Looking at the rest of the pack, they too had looks of betrayal on their faces. The way she had phrased it, damn it.

“We didn't have a date with each other”, grunted Stiles annoyed. “We're walking a fine treaty with the Argents, I'm not jeopardizing that. That aside; Allison, really? No. Not my best friend's ex.”

The pack looked mildly relieved at that. Though Peter's curiosity was picked now.

“You two were on a date together, but not with each other?”, asked the oldest wolf ridiculed.

“It was a double date”, answered Allison simply. “Because our boyfriends turned out to be twins.”

Silence. Strange, awkward silence. Just what Stiles needed. Prying himself free from Derek's grasp before there would be broken ribs, he took a seat himself. The Betas stared at him intensely.

“Boyfriends? As in, both of you each have a boyfriend?”, asked Danny curiously, staring at Stiles intensely. “You have a _boyfriend_ , Stiles? I—Is that why you were asking me all those months ago if you're attractive to guys? Oh god, you were figuring out your sexuality and I was a jerk-”

“Danny”, interrupted Stiles with a deadpan expression. “You are not capable of being a jerk. It's alright. But yes, if you have to know, I am... uh, well. Bisexual, I guess. And I have a boyfriend.”

“Who is it?”, asked Isaac, cocking his head. “Is he nice to you? You know, if he's a jerk-”

“He's not a jerk either”, laughed Stiles amused. “You don't need to play guard dogs.”

“Who is he?”, wanted Danny to know. “Do we know him? Does he know, well _us_?”

“Why don't I know about him? About any of this?”, asked Scott with a disappointed whine.

“I'll go and see how Erica is doing”, grunted Derek and left the waiting room again hastily.

Stiles frowned after him a little confused and disappointed. Of course their grumpy Alpha wasn't interested in petty love-life gossip. Still, he had hoped to have some kind of reaction from Derek. Before he could really dwell on that thought did the Betas demand his attention and answers.

 

/break\

 

Derek closed the door rather loudly behind him, feeling how his claws left a mark on it. Taking deep breaths, he tried to keep his wolf contained. Stiles had a boyfriend. Stiles had someone, of course he did. Why shouldn't he? He was beautiful, funny, clever, compassionate and cunning. It had been a miracle that he didn't have someone to begin with. He should be happy for Stiles. Stiles had someone, someone who surely was better for him than Derek. And all Derek wanted was for Stiles to be happy. There was no happy when Derek Hale was involved.

“D—Derek...”, whispered a soft and pained voice.

His attention snapped to his female Beta. Erica looked slightly better, the way the four other Betas had leeched off her pain had helped immensely. Stepping up to her, he tenderly caressed her hair before resting one hand on her shoulder and helping her heal.

“It's alright, Erica”, assured Derek. “You're safe now. You're back with the pack.”

“B—But we... left...”, whispered Erica, pained by the mere thought of not belonging.

“Stiles said you wanted to return. If that is true, then there is a place among our pack for you. There had always been a place for you. Now stop worrying about it and concentrate on getting better, okay?”, offered the Alpha softly before turning to Deaton. “How is she doing?”

“Good. Having the pack close helps the healing and it was fast thinking of Allison to bring her to me”, answered the vet, cleaning the blood off his hands. “She will heal, she just needs rest.”

“Thank you”, said Derek before turning back to his Beta. “Sleep a bit, Erica.”

“N—No, Derek”, started Erica, shaking her head a bit. “B—Boyd...”

Derek froze, unsure what to expect. Was Boyd dead? Had he escaped with Erica together and was still out there? Was he still wherever Erica and him had been hidden? What had happened to them?

“T—They still have him, Derek”, gasped Erica, her eyes wide and filled with tears. “I—I escaped, but he... he couldn't follow me. He's still with them. The Alphas, they still have Boyd.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter taking place during the 4-months-gap. Next chapter will start season 3.


	11. Tattoo and Claw

Chapter 10: Tattoo and Claw

 

“And you really think that this was a good idea, Stiles?”

“Of course it was, Scott. Besides, even if not, it's too late now.”

Stiles winced slightly. It was probably not his brightest moment and it was a real pain, but yes, he knew it in itself had been a good idea. His fingers wandered to the large pad on his chest. The two boys got into Stiles' car. Biting his lips, Stiles peeled the band aid off to take a look. Right above his heart rested the triskele. Scott craned his neck, looking at it curiously.

“Still, a tattoo?”, questioned Scott with a worried frown.

“It's not just a tattoo, Scott. Everyone else in the pack aside from Lydia is linked since they're wolves. I just... want to show that I'm seriously a part of this pack too, you know?”, sighed Stiles.

Scott frowned worried. Not that he wanted to be discouraging, he was grateful that Stiles had asked _him_ to come along to the tattoo parlor. Then again, since it was supposed to be a surprise for the pack, he couldn't have taken any pack members with him for it. He decided to leave it at that for now, since he kind of understood that Stiles was feeling a little left out and useless these days. They had Erica back, but they had no idea how to find Boyd since she didn't remember a thing. They planned to use Peter and his claws to retrieve her memories, but she was still healing from the Alpha wounds and the process was draining, so they still waited. And Stiles wasn't good at that.

Coincidentally, neither was Erica. So to take her mind off of feeling antsy about her mate being in danger and being put under pressure to get better, Lydia had decided to take the only other female in their pack out for shopping. Partly so she could get to know Erica better, after all, they were pack now. Much to Lydia's and Erica's surprise, they hit it off together. They could both be bitches and they had amazing style and could practically wear anything – all according to Lydia.

“Wait, Lyd, are those Stiles and Scott in the car in front of us?”, asked Erica confused. “I thought we had this no-no relationship with the Argents and with Scott. This truce-thing.”

Lydia passed the Jeep, honking at Stiles and arching one curious eyebrow at the other. Stiles knew that Derek had put them all under curfew until the Alpha pack was taken care of. None of them were supposed to go out alone, without another pack member. And Scott was _not_ pack.

“Well...”, drawled Lydia, cocking her head curiously. “It's Stiles and Scott. They have always been very close and Stiles wouldn't just abandon him. Besides, Stiles is kind of working on getting Scott into the pack. Derek is not a big fan of that yet. But that-”

She got interrupted by a manic deer, hitting her car right on front. Both vehicles stopped and the four teenagers hastily got out to see it up close. Stiles and Scott checked on the two girls.

“Are you alright?”, asked Stiles concerned. “Wait, stupid question. You just got hit by a deer.”

“A deer that lost its freaking mind”, grunted Erica and glared at the dead animal.

Scott looked uncomfortable, turning to stare at Lydia, Erica and Stiles. Stiles was fussing over the girls and demanding that Lydia called Derek to pick them up. It made Scott miss their previous actions, their shenanigans with the pack. It made Scott miss the pack.

 

/break\

 

It was the first day of school and that had all teenagers a little on edge. John Stilinski had a hard time prying Stiles off his dozens of books, which as always didn't fail to set him on edge. He had no idea what was going on with Stiles, but he started to think that maybe, his son had joined a cult or something like that. He was looking at foreign symbols and kept books stashed in his room that looked highly suspicious too. Blissfully enough, Jackson and Lydia didn't have as attentive parents so Jackson had an easy time leaving home and picking Lydia and Danny up. He knew his best friend was feeling guilty about lying to his family, but after four months of being part of the pack, he also viewed them as his second family. Said second family had become Isaac's first and only.

“Are you... really making breakfast, Derek?”, asked Isaac as he straightened his clothes.

Peter and Erica were already sitting at the table, Peter reading the newspaper and Erica practically inhaling her coffee. And Derek was standing at the hearth, making scrambled eggs. Isaac had the suspicion that maybe, Derek was feeling challenged that the pack mostly gathered in Stiles' house for Stiles' cooking. The truth was that Derek wanted to show Stiles that he too could take care of their pack so he was trying himself more in the kitchen. Peter knew that and found it hilarious. Derek silently glared at Peter while he continued with the breakfast. School made him a little nervous since it meant his pack was relatively out of his reach there.

In a smaller and less unorthodox family was another father with similar thoughts. Chris wasn't comfortable with sending Allison back to school either. Mostly so because he didn't trust what would happen if Allison and Scott were to spend too much time with each other again. That and the threat of the Alpha pack looming over their heads. But in a way, the treaty with the Hale pack made him feel a little relieved, because Stiles had promised the pack would keep an eye on Allison. He kissed his daughter's head and send her off to school. He had plans with Peter, after all.

 

/break\

 

Chris gritted his teeth as he drove as fast as he could, looking over at Peter out of the corner of his eyes. The damn wolf was bleeding all over his seats. As they finally reached the hospital, he helped the oldest Hale out of the car. Great, now Peter was bleeding all over him. He briefly wondered why he had agreed to help Derek and Peter on the search for the Alphas, but then he remembered the treaty and the fact that he tried to keep his daughter safe. Only when Melissa took over and Peter was being taken care of did Chris realize that he had just made a possibly big mistake. But when he had found Peter severely injured by two weird twins who had merged into one giant Alpha-monster, he had acted on instincts and brought him to the hospital. But Peter had a wolf's healing power.

“He's a wolf. He'll heal. I shouldn't have brought him here”, groaned Chris, staring at his bloody hands. “I know better than that, damn it. When the doctor's notice that he's healing...”

“Look, Chris, why don't you go and head back home? I'll call Derek”, offered Melissa.

Chris was a human, even though he was a hunter. The stealth of a wolf would be needed to get Peter away from the doctors now and Derek was Peter's family contact. She smiled kindly at the wrecked man. Somehow it looked as though Chris truly cared about Peter's well-being, even though he himself didn't look aware of this fact. Peter was completely out of it while Melissa tried to reach Derek. What she didn't know was that the Alpha was still out there, trying to find a lead on Boyd and didn't hear his phone. With Derek unreachable, Melissa wasn't quite sure who to call. She didn't know who was in the Hale pack. But she did have a wolf on speed-dial.

 

/break\

 

Stiles was sitting in the back with Danny and Isaac, nervously seesawing on his chair. He could feel Lydia's eyes burning into his head. Which was why he was engaging in a conversation with Danny. At least until all phones in the class went off with what their new teacher seemed to find a funny way of introducing herself. Stiles was bothered by this Miss Blake. Something about her cheery attitude and her whole self was off. It was a feeling, but he had learned to trust those. But then Miss Blake went outside with Scott, who got called out of class, causing the rest of the pack to also focus on something else aside from what Miss Blake had to say and that inevitably distracted Stiles.

“Lydia?”, asked Danny curiously, leaning over to the strawberry-blonde. “You smell like blood.”

Isaac and Jackson too sniffed the air curiously. Interestingly enough, the three wolves didn't just smell the dried blood on Lydia's foot but also the distinctive scent of blood and inc on Stiles. Stiles found this turn of events far more interesting than what Miss Blake had to say too though.

“Wait, did Jackson bite you?”, asked Stiles confused as he noticed the source of the scent.

“Prada did. Not Jackson”, snorted Lydia and rolled her eyes. “Even though he's an untrained pup.”

“Hey!”, protested Jackson with a glare. “But wait, that stuffed toy would never bite you.”

Stiles had another thought on the subject, but Miss Blake returned and she seemed not very fond of the fact that half her class wasn't paying any attention to her. Stiles all the while wondered where Scott had gone. It was the first day of school, he couldn't already start missing classes. His scattered thoughts – about Prada and Blake and Scott and Alphas and Boyd – were interrupted by the sudden invasion of crazy birds who at that moment attacked the windows. Jackson growled and shoved Lydia behind himself while Danny and Isaac pushed in front of Stiles so their pack was protected.

 

/break\

 

If Stiles would have known that Blake had given Scott a piece of her mind that was startling similar to his own thoughts, he would have probably been somewhere between disturbed and wise-assing. But Scott was determined to change. He would not miss out on too much this year, he would get his grades back up and he would be a better friend. And he would get back into the pack. Which was probably the only reason why he went to the hospital to help _Peter_ out of all people. But Peter was Derek's only family, so maybe that would bring him some extra credits with the Alpha? His focus was on those thoughts exactly when he helped the slightly unsettling blind man out of the elevator. His focus returned to the now however when he noticed the bulky, freaky man with the claws. The _red-eyed_ bulky, freaky man with the claws who was pushing around an unconscious Peter Hale. Scott jumped after him just as the Alpha wanted to leave on the elevator, with Peter. But in such a confined space and all alone against an Alpha, Scott barely had a chance. After being pushed around for a while, the man grabbed him around the neck and lifted him into the air to finish him off, but just in the nick of time did the elevator doors open and their local (mostly) friendly Alpha appeared to save the day by ramming his claws into the Alpha's back and throwing him out of the way.

“What are you doing here, Scott? Aren't you supposed to be in school?”, asked Derek annoyed.

Scott just glared up at him. A simple 'Thank you for helping out' wasn't in for him, was it? Huffing, he got up and pointedly waved into the general direction of still unconscious Peter.

“Yes. You can help me bringing him home”, nodded Derek thoughtful. “He's pretty heavy.”

 

/break\

 

This was really not Chris' day. First he had to rescue Peter Hale's ass, then he managed to screw that up and just as he got out of the shower from scrubbing off Peter's blood did he get a call from Allison. He had known it this morning, it was not a good idea to send Allison back to school. Now, standing in the middle of a classroom full of dead birds, broken glass and bleeding students, he swore the next time he would listen to his guts. Especially when Stiles and his pups gathered around him, the human waving his arms around wildly. Chris heaved a long-suffering sigh.

“It's the animals!”, exclaimed Stiles. “We got attacked by a random deer last night, now the birds, then Prada biting Lydia! The animals are getting nervous about _something_.”

“And we don't think it's about an earthquake”, added Danny with a worried frown.

Chris nodded slowly. He noted the lack of Scott. And he wondered why Lydia's shoes had bit her.

“Mister Argent? Can I have a word?”, asked the sheriff as he entered.

He stared suspiciously over at his son who seemed to be talking to Mister Argent too. The boy could not possibly be investigating on his own _again_? And where was Scott McCall? Chris smiled and nodded, turning his back on the teenagers to pay attention to the sheriff.

“All this weird animal behavior, you must have seen something like this before, right?”, questioned John with a frown. “Stiles mentioned how you're an experienced hunter. Do you have any insight?”

“I'm sorry, I doubt I can help you”, replied Chris and gritted his teeth, glaring at a sheepish Stiles.

Stiles duck his head, rather turning toward his pack. “Okay, this little thing just brought us the afternoon off. Jackson, you take Lydia, I'll take Isaac and Danny, you go with the Argents.”

The Betas stared at him a little confused. As did the Argents. Stiles just shrugged, waving his arms.

“Alpha's orders!”, huffed Stiles. “No one goes out without a guard-dog. Now we have a lead, so we'll have a pack-meeting. Also, your new place coincidentally isn't far away from the Hale house, so you'll drop Danny off for us and go home the last few meters on your own.”

“Actually... not a bad plan”, mused Danny amused.

They hastily slipped out of the room and got to their cars. Even though Chris didn't want to admit it, he was grateful to have the werewolf close by. If something happened, his strength would be helpful. Still, he was worried for Allison. She didn't look quite comfortable as they got into the car. Isaac on the other hand looked eager as he got into Stiles' car. Which was unsettling.

“Okay, what's with the eager puppy eyes?”, questioned Stiles as he followed Jackson's car.

“What kind of tattoo did you get, where did you get it and does Derek know?”

Rolling his eyes, Stiles used one hand to push the collar of his shirt down enough to reveal the raw skin with the triskele. Isaac gave a slightly surprised yelp, before giving him a half-smirk. The mocking smirk and silence that followed was more unsettling than the eager puppy eyes before.

That was the fun part of the day, however, because once they reached the Hale house, it was Scott who opened them the door. Which was very confusing, at least for Stiles. And very uncomfortable for Scott. He had only been once to the new Hale house before and now with the whole pack in it, he started feeling threatened and out of place. Once the Argents pulled up, he at least wasn't the only one feeling out of place. Him and Allison kept staring awkwardly at each other, staying at the entrance of the house while the pack gathered in the living room, around a half-unconscious Peter.

“Chris, you came to see if I'm still alive. I feel so... flustered”, drawled Peter with a smirk.

But the oldest wolf was not the only one a little confused by Chris Argent in the middle of their living room. Chris himself was probably the most confused, so he instead looked at Derek.

“Your pack has a pretty good theory about the animals going crazy to warn us about something. Something supernatural”, growled Chris, crossing his arms over his chest. “So I came to check if you and your pack made any progress in finding the Alpha pack, because what else screams supernatural earthquake than a pack of Alpha werwolves?”

He pointedly stared at Erica, truly asking if she finally remembered. Erica growled slightly and hid behind Isaac. They, together with Jackson, Lydia and Danny, sat on one of the couches. Peter laid sprawled on another couch, looking a little like a drama queen. Derek was glaring at Chris as he sat on his 'Alpha chair' (as Jackson called the large leather chair). After pushing Scott and Allison into the house with a long-suffering sigh and closing the door, Stiles walked over to Derek and sat down perched on the armrest of the chair, arms crossed over his chest.

“No, Erica doesn't remember anything else. That's some dangerous shit and we're not putting her through that before we're entirely sure that her Alpha-torture-inflicted wounds are healed enough”, growled Stiles pointedly. “Besides, _you_ were out on Alpha-hunt today, not us. So you tell us.”

“Wait, dad, you were on what?”, asked Allison surprised and turned toward her father.

“It's a treaty, that works both ways”, sighed Chris, still shifting a little guilty. “Stiles and Derek suggested that if the Betas keep an eye on you during school, I'll help them find the Alphas.”

“And we did. Or, well, they found me before Chris arrived as my knight in shining armor, saving me”, added Chris, sweetly batting his eyelashes at Chris, making the hunter roll his eyes.

“I think Peter needs to sleep some drugs off”, suggested Derek with a disturbed glance.

“And I think we all need some normality after all this craziness”, sighed Lydia dramatically.

“Good idea. Allison, I think it's time to go home”, agreed Chris, desiring to leave that house again.

“Would you be so nice to drop Scott off at home? He came with me”, asked Derek. “And you others, go get cleaned up. And do your homework. Or something. But first bring Peter to his room.”

Jackson and Lydia glared confused as Jackson, Isaac, Danny and Erica carried a protesting Peter up the stairs and Stiles could hear the faint whisper from Isaac as they disappeared at the end of the stairs. “Derek is trying a fatherly approach to being the Alpha.”

“You just tried to push Allison and Scott”, accused Stiles amused, turning toward Derek. “Why?”

“I may not want them in my pack, but I know they're mates and after everything they managed to achieve and live through together, I understand that as much as I tried to, mates belong together and I can't keep them apart”, admitted Derek, looking a little constipated at that.

“You know, you're trying to be all sour, but you in fact are a softy at heart”, smiled Stiles, nudging Derek before remembering something. “Oh gods, I need to show you something, Derek!”

Derek felt his heart-rate picking up when Stiles jumped off the couch and pulled off his shirt. He was somewhere between delighted, aroused and disappointed when he saw that Stiles hadn't done so in a sudden realization that Derek was The One. But the tattoo on Stiles' skin was quite the turn-on for Derek. Seeing _his_ symbol, the sign of his pack and family, on his mate's skin. Derek sunk his claws into his favorite chair to keep from pinning Stiles against the wall and ravishing him. This tattoo made him feel even more possessive than before.

“Uhm, well, I figured since I don't belong to the pack in the same way you wolves do...”, drawled Stiles, growing a little nervous and self-conscious. “I mean, I figured since you have the same...”

“Oh my gosh, you two are _finally_ going to do it!”, exclaimed Lydia, standing on the stairs. “But why in the living room? Derek has a perfectly fine bed for that!”

“Lydia!”, exclaimed Stiles, feeling panicked that this accusation may offend Derek and ruin the cautiously build relationship Stiles had spend months on. “Don't be ridiculous! Besides, I have a boyfriend, even though you seem to forget that. All the time. What do you _want_?”

“A boyfriend no one has met yet”, pointed Lydia out, cocking one eyebrow. “Anyway, we figured we'd have some normality. I just 'accidentally' found an invitation to Heather's birthday party on your desk in your room. I figured we could go there, together. It would be something _normal_ teenagers would do. That is simply perfect for us, isn't it?”

“Y—Yeah, right”, nodded Stiles and put his shirt back on, brightly flushed. “Sure, of course.”

Derek gritted his teeth, trying not to growl as his view and his Stiles got taken away by Lydia.

 

/break\

 

Stiles found himself regretting that impulse-decision not too many days later when he found himself in a wine-cellar, pressed against the wall by Heather, who was heatedly kissing him. Really? Now? He had been ignored by everybody for so long and now that he actually had a _boyfriend_ , a girl was up for making out with him? He cursed Ethan in his head for canceling on the party. Not just because he now found himself in the awkward position of explaining to an old friend that he couldn't quite take her virginity because he was patiently waiting for his own boyfriend to take his. There was also the matter of Lydia and Jackson continuously teasing him about Ethan being fiction.

“Uhm, so... You have a boyfriend? _You_ have a boyfriend and I don't?”, sighed Heather embarrassed. “Do you... Do you think you could give me a moment to myself, Stiles? This is awkward.”

Stiles nodded, running his fingers through his hair. This was Heather's birthday party and he had just put her into an awful situation by accident, so he figured leaving her on her own for a moment would be good. Also, he had some pups to check on. But after finding Jackson and Lydia sitting on the couch, heatedly making out, and Danny and Isaac laughing and dancing, he felt left out again. They were all so sweetly coupled up. Feeling pouty, he pulled his phone out to write Ethan a slightly pouty message. Stuffing his phone back into his pocket, he decided to return and see if Heather really was fine, bringing her birthday cake. It had been embarrassing enough for her to ask him to take her virginity, but hearing that he had a boyfriend had been the icing on the metaphorical cake. So Heather deserved a real piece of cake with lots of frosting. But by the time Stiles checked the cellar, it was empty. Stiles frowned confused, but figured that maybe she had just gone to be comforted by a friend. Or maybe she found a more willing partner.

 

/break\

 

Derek just returned hime from dropping Isaac off at school. He had grown confusingly fond of that specific routine, because at the parking lot, Derek got to see the rest of their pack and see that they were all doing fine. It was also oddly domestic and reminded him of how his father used to drive him and his siblings to school. But once he returned home, he knew what was awaiting him. He had talked to Peter the other day and they had agreed that with the weird animal behavior, they really needed to _hurry_ things up. Also, Erica was growing antsy about finding Boyd.

“Peter?”, asked Derek unsure as he entered the living room.

Erica glared heatedly at Peter, rubbing her bleeding neck. Peter was inspecting his bloody nails.

“Good news is: dear Boyd is still alive. Bad news: the Alphas want him dead by full moon, which so happens to be tomorrow”, drawled Peter, staring up at Derek. “But I didn't get any more.”

Derek sighed and ran his hands over his face before collapsing on his Alpha chair.

 

/break\

 

Stiles was actually having a good day so far. He had seen Ethan in the morning and they had briefly met in the staircase to make out before classes. And right now, they were in the coach's class and Scott had actually answered a question correctly. It had made Stiles proud, considering Scott's poor attention-record from the last year. His day took a bad turn when his dad interrupted the class to tell him that he had been the last person to see Heather and that since her party, she went missing.

“What exactly have you two been doing at that party anyway?”, questioned Lydia in the parking lot.

“Well, she wanted me... to... take her virginity”, muttered Stiles embarrassed.

“Stilinski got laid! Someone get the champagne!”, exclaimed Jackson, patting Stiles' back.

“Fuck off, Whittemore”, grunted Stiles with a glare. “And I turned her down. I have a boyfriend.”

“Who no one has seen yet”, pointed Lydia out, once more.

“Lydia has a point. You still haven't introduced your mysterious boyfriend to the pack”, said Isaac.

“Shut up, pup. Get into the car, I'll drop you off at the house on my way home”, grunted Stiles.

Isaac grinned a little as he kissed Danny goodbye and got into the Jeep. “So... Your fantasy boyfriend? Does he exist or not? I thought you invented him to make Derek jealous.”

“Ethan exists”, growled Stiles defensively. “I just never get a hold of him to introduce him to you guys. No idea why. And no, I am not trying to make Derek jealous. Why should he get jealous?”

Isaac frowned and shrugged. He wasn't sure. Reading Derek and his feelings was an impossible thing, but Isaac knew that he liked the way Derek and Stiles kept their pack together and safe. He exchanged confused looks with Stiles when they reached the house and saw Derek and Erica waiting for them. Their confusion grew when the two got into the car.

“Deaton's. We _need_ Erica's memories”, declared Derek in his growly-grumpy voice.

“That's the bad tone. What's wrong?”, asked Stiles with a frown and sped up some.

“Peter tried to get my memories back, but he didn't catch all. We know that Boyd will die tomorrow”, replied Erica, making a miserable sound in the back of her throat.

“Okay. Life or death mission with a one day time window. Great”, groaned Stiles bothered.

He was relieved when they pulled into the animal clinic's parking lot. Isaac was on the phone with Danny so his mate could inform Jackson and Lydia on what was happening. By the time he entered the clinic, he saw Deaton and Derek filling a tub with ice and water while Stiles was silently talking to Erica, trying to calm her down. Isaac joined the two of them, placing a calming hand on his oldest pack-mate. The other blonde stared up at him nervously.

“I'll remember everything. Everything they did to us...”, whispered Erica nervously.

“It'll be alright, Catwoman”, assured Stiles, hugging her. “You'll also remember where Boyd is.”

“And then we'll be able to save Boyd”, added Isaac eagerly.

“Are you ready, Erica?”, asked Deaton sympathetically.

Erica bit her lips and climbed into the tub. Stiles started nervously pacing the room. This whole kidnapping-situation was bringing him close to a panic-attack for weeks now. He clawed his fingers into his shirt as he picked up the pace. At least until a large, warm hand was placed on his shoulder. Stopping his pacing, he turned to look up at Derek. A strange calmness spread through him. One he had never really experienced before. Like the whole world was fine and everything was going to be amazing and great and wonderful. He relaxed into the touch and leaned against Derek a little. He could feel the hard, strong muscles through the thin shirt on Derek's body. A blush found its way onto Stiles' cheeks. He had worked way too hard on his relationship with Derek to destroy it with some stupid pend-up teenage hormones that came from his boyfriend always having some kind of family emergency every time their clothes were about to come off. He was not going to come onto the Alpha. Because Derek would do more than just reject him. He may actually pull through with the whole ripping Stiles' throat out this time. Or worse yet, throw him out of the pack. The pack was way too important to Stiles by now to truly lose them. Isaac all the while watched them curiously. They both looked content as Derek held Stiles. And Stiles had gotten a tattoo of Derek's family crest. And Derek tended to destroy at least one piece of furniture every time Stiles' boyfriend was mentioned. Actually, he had a pretty good hunch that those two would make a great fit. They would make a great Alpha pair, after all they were already taking care of the pack together. It made Isaac decide on one thing. If Derek was trying to be more fatherly and Stiles was already proving to be quite motherly to them, then it was obviously up to Isaac to bring mom and dad together.

The moment he decided on that coincidentally was the moment Erica came shooting out of the water, gasping for air. Isaac jumped slightly in surprise and turned toward his fellow Beta.

“Erica? Are you alright?”, asked Deaton concerned.

“Do you remember? Are you fine? Do you need a hug?”, wanted Stiles to know.

“Where is Boyd?”, questioned Derek with a frown.

“Do you want a towel?”, offered Isaac, staring ridiculed at the other three.

Erica took the towel and got out of the ice-water, shaking. “H—He is... He's in the Beacon Hills First National Bank. We were there... t—together... They held us in the vault... locked up...”

“An empty bank?”, grunted Stiles and rolled his eyes. “Empty, old building. Perfect hide-out.”

“Good”, nodded Derek, caressing Erica's hair and taking some of her pain from the memory-retrieving. “You did good, Erica. Come, we'll bring you home. There's a hot bath waiting.”

“S—Sounds good”, nodded Erica, still shaking, pulling the towels a little tighter.

“I'll make you a hot chocolate”, offered Stiles, pulling his phone out.

While Isaac and Derek helped Erica to the car, Stiles send a short message to Scott and one to Chris to inform them on the current events, keeping up their end of the treaty. By the time he caught up to the wolves, Isaac and Erica were already curled together on the backseat and Derek was sitting on the passenger seat, staring intensely at Stiles, which made him shudder.

“T—There's more”, whispered Erica as they pulled out of the parking lot. “We weren't alone.”


	12. Boyd and Cora

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Isaac and Derek free Cora and Boyd while Scott and Allison are in the closet together! Also, the pack goes on a werewolf hunt with Chris.

Chapter 11: Boyd and Cora

 

It had been a long and draining conversation. Erica had relayed most of what had happened to her during the three months. She also told them about Cora. For now, the pack focused on a rescue plan. Derek and Isaac would break into the bank to free the two wolves. Jackson, Lydia and Danny would have to be home – the problem with parents who had no idea what was going on and didn't do night-shifts like John did. Stiles would be staying with Erica and Peter, doing more researches, trying to find out more. Especially about Cora. Cora Hale. Cora Hale, sister of Derek and niece of Peter. Stiles frowned concerned as he watched Derek and Isaac packing to leave. The others had already left home for dinner. Peter was with Erica in the kitchen, Isaac had already headed out to the car. Derek was lingering. He seemed distracted. Understandable so.

“Derek”, whispered Stiles, grabbing the Alpha by the arm. “Maybe this is just a ploy from the Alphas, to mess with your head. Putting some girl there with Boyd and Erica, feeding them the name of one of your sisters. Don't let them get to you. You need to focus on saving Boyd. And Cora, if that is really her. Think about it, your sister. Back to life. Or still alive. Not sure. But those are things we can worry about once you're all back safe, okay? If it's her, how she survived if it's her, whatever had happened. We will get through it _together_ , but now you need to _focus_. Okay?”

Concern shone in his hazel eyes. Derek's heart fluttered at his mate's concern and he found himself nodding. Whatever was going on, for now he needed to be fully focused on the mission. Otherwise he may lose Boyd, or even Isaac during the mission. For now, he needed to ban all questions from his mind. With a last look at his mate, knowing Stiles would be _here_ , waiting for him, safe and out of harm's way, he turned to leave together with Isaac. The drive was tense and silent. They both knew that Boyd's life depended on them. Derek flexed his claws. Their 'diamond drill', as Stiles had suggested for them to take to break the vault walls. Their only chance in.

 

/break\

 

Stiles was pacing in front of the couch, where Erica was laying sprawled out, still recovering from the memory-recovery. Peter sat on his armchair, watching Stiles' pacing with amusement. The older wolf hadn't come along because he was still recovering from his last encounter with the Alphas. Recovery seemed to be a thing for their pack. Stiles didn't like it.

“They're a pack of Alphas. Why would they capture our Betas? Why would they lock them up? For three months at that! Just for fun? Entertainment? Like the Colosseum? Are they making them fight? Why? Why all of this? And why tonight – on the full moon? They already had three!”

“Would you finally stop ranting, Stiles?”, sighed Peter, massaging his temples.

“I don't know why they kept us locked up”, shrugged Erica, curled together. “But I had no idea that this much time has passed. We were locked into that vault. No sun, no moon. Nothing to give us a hint if it was day or night, how many weeks or months had passed.”

“No sun, no moon?”, repeated Peter and slowly got up, getting Stiles' attention. “What's the vault made of? The walls of the vault? What are they made of?”

Stiles frowned confused and pulled the plan up to check. Peter was hovering next to him and as they read it, they looked up and locked eyes, equally startled. The walls were made of moonstone.

“It blocks the moonlight”, muttered Peter concerned. “Three months. They haven't changed in three full moons. If Derek and Isaac free them, they're going to be _affected_. More than ever before.”

“They'll go berserk”, concluded Stiles and gulped hard, grabbing the table-top even harder.

 

/break\

 

Derek and Isaac weren't the only ones breaking into the bank. Stiles had told Scott about the bank, in an angry rant about Alphas behaving like movie villains by hiding in an abandoned, old building. And Allison, well she more or less had it figured out on her own. After they had found Erica, her and Stiles, she had been going through the block, figuring Erica couldn't have come from far away. The abandoned building seemed perfect. So here they were, Scott and Allison, breaking into the bank together. They stared at each other startled when they met in the entrance hall.

“Oh. Uhm. This is... awkward”, muttered Scott, ruffling his hair.

“I'm... glad you're here”, whispered Allison, facing another way, motioning for Scott to follow her, even though he looked quite stunned. “We're a good team. We work good together. And if we free Boyd together, the pack... well, they may stop avoiding us as much...”

Scott nodded slowly. She wanted redemption. And so did he. He wanted for Stiles to be _proud_ of him again. Stiles used to admire Scott's sense for right and wrong, but when Scott had made the decision to work against Gerard on his own, to use Derek for it, he had lost that admiration. And he wanted it back. He wanted them back, him and Stiles, together. And Isaac and Lydia and Jackson. And Allison. Oh, he wanted Allison back. Straightening his back, he followed her. Which worked until they ran into their guidance counselor. They barely had time to wonder what she was doing there when she pushed them into a closet, telling them to stay put and safe. And then she was gone and Allison and Scott were together in a closet. Both blushed a little and stared awkwardly.

 

/break\

 

The plan worked without a hitch. Getting in and punching the wall. It all worked well until they were actually _inside_ the bank vault. Because when Derek punched the hole into the wall, he also let in the moonlight and Boyd and Cora – Cora, his _sister_ , the little sister that should be dead, the little girl that used to steal Derek's chocolate and follow Laura around like a lost puppy, his baby sister Cora who was very much alive – reacted instantly. They went berserk and Derek barely had time to think about the fact that this was actually, truly Cora, because he had to find a way to hold them down. Isaac had more of a hard time than Derek, only being a Beta. And it was hugely confusing for the young werewolf to see his guidance counselor, trapping them with mountain ash.

“What in the world is going on here?”, growled Isaac, trying to fight Boyd off.

Derek tried to hold onto Cora. Being up close to her, he could smell her. It was her, not just a girl looking like Cora, it was _her_. What indeed was going on here. Why trap them in the vault, where did they get Cora, why would they get her, why go through all this trouble?

While Isaac and Derek were busy trying not to get killed by two psychotic Betas, Allison and Scott were busy staring deep into each other's eyes in a manner they had not done in months. They leaned in, slowly, so short of kissing as they heard the ruckus. They bolted apart, both very much aware of what they had nearly done. A scream tore through the bank and Scott recognized Isaac's voice. Within moments, he was out of the closet and running toward the source of the commotion, Allison close behind. What they saw was not exactly what they were expecting. Boyd had Isaac pierced through the chest, Derek was holding onto a feral brunette female. Scott tried to run inside, just to collide with an invisible wall. Allison scanned the room, noticing the circle of mountain ash. Isaac was short of being torn apart by his own pack-mate, the one they all had come to rescue. It was a last-minute decision, but she broke the circle with a wipe of her hand. It took Boyd and the girl less than a second to notice, break loose and run past Scott and Allison. Scott didn't even spare them a look, he headed straight for Isaac, checking on him and leeching off some of his pain, while Derek growled annoyed at Allison, flashing his red eyes at her.

“Do you know what you did?! You just let two berserk wolves loose on Beacon Hills!”, hissed Derek, flexing his claws, fighting the urge to pin her to the wall and rip her apart for her idiocy.

But then something happened. His phone rang. Pinning Allison with a glare, he pulled it out, just to see STILES blinking at him in large letters. He nearly instantly calmed and picked up.

“Derek! Der, you can't break the wall! It's lined with this stone, it prevents the moonlight from reaching them! They haven't felt the effect of the full moon for three months! They'll-”

“Go berserk? Yes, they did”, interrupted Derek and heaved a sigh. “And they're on the loose. _Someone_ set them free. Listen to me, I want you to contact the rest of the pack. Warn them. And _stay safe_. Stay close to at least one of my Betas at all time, you hear me, Stiles?”

Silence, for a far too long moment. “Okay. But, Derek... You too. Stay safe. Don't be reckless.”

A tiny smile slid onto Derek's face at his mate's concern, despite the situation. “Of course, Stiles.”

 

/break\

 

Stiles slumped some when he hung up. So Boyd was out there, batshit crazy due to an overdose of moonlight. Brilliant. Glaring at his phone, he dialed the next number. Lydia. She sounded confused and scared, which was never a good combination. He told her to stay where she was and to phone Jackson so he could pick her up and bring her to the den. Their parents be damned.

“Danny? Danny, I need you to get to Jackson's, you two need to pick up Lydia at the pool near the Preserve. Watch out. Don't come near Boyd when you encounter him, not for now. Stay away until you get here so Peter and I can explain everything, okay?”, ordered Stiles fast.

He didn't give Danny much of a chance to react before he called Scott to also warn him. It was an interesting piece of information to hear that Scott was already with Derek and Isaac. And Allison. This day just kept getting more and more weird. He gratefully accepted the tea Peter offered him. Like he said, more and more weird by the minute. He paced the living room until the doorbell rang, _finally_. Opening the door, he pulled Lydia into a hug while Danny and Jackson passed them.

The next half an hour was spend with exchanging stories. After Stiles explained about the moonstone and the state of Boyd's mind (and Cora's, after a message from Isaac reached his phone), Lydia told them about waking up screaming from a headache and leaving the house with the intention of getting more Ibuprofen, but ending up at the pool with a dead guy in the lifeguard stand. Yes, this day was truly trying to become the most weirdest. Stiles sighed and felt short of giving up, at least until his cellphone rang and announced DEREK in blinking letters. His mood lifted instantly, hoping for good news he picked it up, sitting down on the Alpha chair.

“Derek? Your sister? Boyd? What happened?”, asked Stiles concerned.

“We're in the woods. Allison, Scott, Isaac and I. We're chasing after Boyd and Cora, but... They're fast. And strong. Are the others with you?”, wanted Derek to know.

“Yes. Yes, they are. But Lydia – she found a body. A dead body. Lifeless, dead body. I... I think it may have been Boyd and... Cora”, replied Stiles, worrying his lips. “What are we going to do?”

“Scott said we need... help. I agree. We need someone who knows how to hunt werewolves”, admitted Derek and Stiles could practically hear him gritting his teeth. “Send Jackson and Peter to pick up Chris and come here. Danny will stay with you, Lydia and Erica. You should be safe.”

“Should be, yeah. Love the sound of that”, muttered Stiles and made a grimace. “Okay. They're practically on their way. Call me once you got them. Stay safe.”

They never said good bye, noted Peter with one cocked eyebrow. They always said 'stay safe', in one way or the other. He wondered how much longer they could orbit around each other without colliding. Grabbing Jackson by the neck, he pulled him out of the house and toward his car, pulling his cellphone out with the free hand. Hitting his second speed-dial, he briefly wondered how long him and Chris may manage to orbit around each other without colliding either.

“Chris, be a dear and get changed into something nice, fitting a little run-and-chase through the woods. It appears my dear nephew and your dear daughter got themselves into a bit of a situation”, started Peter smoothly once Chris picked up, not giving Chris the chance to say 'hello' (or hang up). “I'm on my way to your place. Wait outside. And bring weapons. Anti-werewolf-weapons.”

Peter was thrilled to find Chris waiting outside the building, just as he had requested. The hunter looked grumpy and Peter mentally prepared himself for the rant about _his_ pack endangering Chris' daughter. Truth was, Peter was actually feeling bad about it. His mate's daughter – his only family – was in danger and he knew it would break Chris to lose her, after all the loss he had endured already. Chris got into the backseat, together with his bags.

“Give me the short version”, ordered the hunter, looking angry.

 

/break\

 

John was having another long night. As he always did, or at least it felt that way. Two young girls – Caitlin and Emily – had gone out for camping. And then got attacked by millions of insects and a crazy lady with glowing eyes and fangs. Emily vanished when three mysterious males appeared and rescued Caitlin. Also glowing eyes. Ecstasy. The girls had taken ecstasy. It was the only possible explanation and John told her so too. Just a hallucination, nothing more. But after all the things John had seen, he started to question that maybe, he should start looking for impossible answers.

 

/break\

 

As Peter, Jackson and Chris reached the others at the forest, Peter suggested to the wolves in their group to rely on their supernatural instincts – to channel their inner wolves instead of relying on their human senses. Chris shook his head, a little amused that wolves needed to be told such a thing while getting a bag of IR glasses out of Peter's car, handing them out to the Betas.

“To sharpen those special senses you have”, grunted Chris as he reached Derek.

“I won't be needing those”, replied Derek, flashing his red Alpha-eyes at the hunter.

Chris cocked one unimpressed eyebrow. “Fair enough. Listen, we need to trap the two wolves somewhere until sunrise. It's either that or killing them and I suppose that is not your first choice, Alpha. It's late, the school should be empty. It will be best to chase them there and trap them.”

“And how?”, questioned Jackson ridiculed. “And _why_ are they like this anyway? I mean what do the Alphas gain? Did they want _you_ to go after our pack again, for attacking humans, or what?”

“Deucalion – their leader – he gathers Alphas in his pack. To join the Alpha pack, an Alpha has to get rid of his baggage first. Kill his own Betas. I don't think it's Chris he wants to go after them”, replied Peter smoothly, staring intensely at his nephew. “He wants you to kill them.”

“That is not going to happen”, snarled Derek, eyes glowing in reflex at the mere thought.

“Yes, now. Would you mind focusing?”, interrupted Chris with a glare, unpacking something else. “These are ultrasonic emitters. Dogs don't like them. Neither do werewolves. We'll build a path with them, chase the two wolves into the school. Pair up for safety and take enough emitters with you.”

“Jackson with Isaac, Scott with me, Peter with Chris. Allison, _wait in the car_ ”, ordered Derek with a growl. “You already messed up enough for one night. I'm sure Chris prefers you safe here too.”

Chris cocked one eyebrow, staring at his daughter, who looked away guilty. “Do as he says.”

He'd never thought he'd see the day he would agree with the Hale Alpha on something concerning his daughter. He should have taken into account that Allison wasn't good at listening though...

 

/break\

 

Stiles was slumped on the Alpha chair, listening to the faint bicker between Erica and Lydia. Danny was at his laptop, doing... well, Danny-stuff, he supposed. Hacking the Pentagon, or something along the way. Maybe downloading porn. Stiles snorted at that. Somehow, that didn't sound much like Danny. He was pulled out of his musings by the ringing of his cellphone. MELISSA.

“Hello?”, asked Stiles confused, listening to what Scott's mother had to say.

Danny looked up from his laptop, observing Stiles curiously, noting the frown on Stiles' face when he hung up. “Stiles? Is everything alright? Who was on the phone?”

“Melissa – McCall, Scott's mother”, replied Stiles. “She wants me to come to the hospital.”

Danny mirrored his frowned and looked around. This was their den, it was safe. Relatively safe. As safe as any place in Beacon Hills could be, he supposed. Erica was nearly up to full health by now.

“Lydia, you stay here with Erica. Stiles, let's go”, stated Danny determined. “If she wants to talk to you, not to Scott, it must be something weird or urgent or both, right? So let's go. Maybe it's something that will help us with Boyd and... Cora was it, right?”

“Yes”, nodded Stiles – to all of it – and stood. “Erica, Lydia, stay safe. We'll be back soon...ish.”

Danny grinned amused as he followed Stiles out to the Jeep. They drove in silence. Too much had happened this day, too many thoughts were running through both their heads to really focus on idle smalltalk. The return of supposedly dead Cora Hale, freeing Boyd, having both on the loose and crazy, finding a dead body after Lydia had a mental breakdown (which continued afterward, mind you). Stiles heaved a sigh when he exited the car, followed by Danny. They waited for Melissa, who lead them to the morgue and showed them a body. The body, as Danny pointed out. The body Lydia had found. It was a gruesome sign and Danny looked a little sick – which was adorable.

“The strange thing, the reason why I called you, Stiles, because when it comes to strange things, you seem to be the go-to guy these days. Also, I couldn't reach Scott. Where is that boy?”

“In the woods. Uhm, wolfish midnight hike with Derek and the pack”, offered Stiles, to which Melissa just glared at Danny suspiciously. “Oh, he's not much for hiking. We were having a tea party with Lydia when you called, you see. Now, uhm, strange thing? Aside from dead body?”

“Right”, nodded Melissa, showing them three things on the body. “There are three causes of death. Someone strangled him with a piece of cord or something, for one. He has bled out, through the cut on his throat, and then there is the blow to the head, right here. That is the biggest overkill I have ever seen. Someone _really_ wanted to see this boy dead.”

“Okay, that is a little strange”, nodded Stiles with a frown, patting Danny's back. “That's not really a werewolfy way of killing, especially not for two crazy and berserk werewolves.”

“Exactly what I thought. Now, the weird thing...”, interrupted Melissa, clearing her throat.

“Wait, this killed-three-times-thing wasn't the weird thing?”, questioned Stiles and made a face.

“No. The weird thing is that we have a second victim with the _exact same_ cause of death.”

Melissa walked over to a second examination table, uncovering a second body. A blonde girl. This time, it was Stiles who turned away, green around his nose. Danny frowned, one arm around him.

“That's... a friend of Stiles'”, whispered Danny softly. “We met her at a party. Her birthday party.”

 

/break\

 

In the end, Chris was actually relieved that Allison hadn't listened to him. Not that she wouldn't be grounded for at least a week, but her waiting on the rooftop of the school to shoot flash bang arrows near Boyd and Cora when they tried to find a way around the school instead of running inside. Had saved the day. The flashes disturbed them, confused them and frightened them into fleeing into the only direction left. Inside the school. Chris stood at the edge of the forest with Peter, observing how Isaac, Scott, Jackson and Derek went inside the school, following the two wild wolves.

“My, isn't that romantic?”, chuckled Peter, tilting his head. “The soft glow of fireflies surrounding us on a beautiful night of a full moon, just you and me... Doesn't it remind you of the old days?”

Chris blushed, the very faintest bit. Somehow he had thought Peter had forgotten. Due to the trauma, the years immobilized. Somehow he had hoped Peter had forgotten. Somehow he had tried to forget, because now with the knowledge that his sister had killed Peter's family, he didn't know anymore. He didn't know what to feel aside from guilt and pain.

“Not entirely. We've never had fireflies in Beacon Hills. At least none that glowed”, stated Chris.

He frowned as he watched the fireflies that surrounded him and Peter.

 

/break\

 

Derek glared, his eyes flashing when he caught the scent of a human inside the boiler room. The exact same boiler room they had just locked Boyd and Cora in after chasing them down here. He cursed beneath his breath, what kind of human was possibly ridiculous enough to spend a night in the school's boiler room? He turned to look at his three exhausted Betas. Wait, two exhausted Betas and Scott. Though Scott proved to be there, like a part of the pack, offered help and actually worked _with_ them instead of against them. Still, whoever was inside that boiler room obviously was a teacher of sorts so chances were high they'd recognize Isaac, Jackson or Scott and glowing eyes and fangs were something hard to explain. Growling slightly, he opened the door.

“There's someone else inside. I'll go in. Lock it behind me”, ordered Derek, eyes flashing red.

“What if they kill you, or you have to kill them”, pointed Jackson out with a frown.

Jackson and Isaac exchanging a reluctant look. Scott did it, in the end. The irony. He sighed before turning to the two angry werewolves and the frightened woman between them. Never had he met someone who screamed Damsel in Distress as much as the 'shocked' brunette that had been dumb enough to spend a night in the boiler room of a school in _Beacon Hills_ , for crying out loud, everybody knew this town was screwed up, one would assume the humans would have learned to stay inside on the full moon, or at least stay away from abandoned, dark boiler rooms. Derek glared annoyed at the still screeching woman while holding down Boyd and Cora as best as he could. They slashed at him, growled and hissed and clawed and by the time the sun rose, he was a bloody mess. He looked over at Cora and Boyd, both laying unconscious on the ground. The door opened and the three Betas entered again, looking concerned. Derek took a shaking breath as Jackson helped him up and supported him, Isaac went for Cora and Scott did his best to transport Boyd.

“Who was stuck in here?”, whispered Isaac worried.

“Teacher”, replied Derek. “But she hid, pretty fast. Any luck and she didn't see me at all. At any rate, she can't see _you_ down here, she'd ask questions. Or me, in a state like that. It's better we go and hope she thinks she fell asleep and had a bad dream. Or something like that.”

 

/break\

 

Danny and Stiles had been pacing the morgue for a while, trying to see a connection between the victims. Both teenagers. But opposite genders. It looked like a ritual murderer.

“What else? What else? What else?”, growled Stiles annoyed. “Heather was a good girl, she was my friend. She didn't deserve to die. On her birthday! And the last thing I did was humiliate her by turning her down when she wanted me to take her virginity!”

“Wait. Virginity?”, repeated Danny with a frown. “The guy, he was wearing a purity ring.”

“So... We got two virgins, killed in a ritual-like manner”, muttered Stiles thoughtful. “Were there any others? Any other bodies? Or missing people? Anything?”

He stared at Melissa waiting for an answer. She looked uncomfortable and confused, but in the end led them to Caitlin, a girl whose girlfriend had disappeared earlier this night. So, asking about the virginity of the missing girlfriend was not the most polite thing Stiles ever did, but it saved time. And confirmed his suspicion. They had two dead virgins, a third missing. Sounded an awful lot like a sacrificial ritual murderer. A trinity of death. He gritted his teeth. This was no good.

 

/break\

 

Derek was laying on his bed, more or less. His knees were bend, hanging over the edge of the bed. It was as far as he had managed to crawl into his bed. This day had been exhausting. And confusing. And he disliked that Danny and Stiles had just gone away without his permission. But Isaac had dropped in and told him that Danny had called. They were on the way. Derek was laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, waiting for the last pack members to return. The door cracked open.

“Derek?”, whispered Stiles' voice. “We're back. So, uhm, update. Peter is reading books on insects – I'm not entirely sure why. Erica is with Boyd. Isaac is with... Cora. Danny, Jackson and Lydia left, they should at least pretend that they hadn't spend the night out. Danny and I, we were in the hospital. Good news is: The dead body; not a victim of Body or Cora. Bad news however; it looks like a Threefold Death sacrifice. We got two dead virgins, a third one missing.”

Derek grunted in reply. Stiles walked up to him and collapsed next to him, also staring at the ceiling. They stayed in silence for a moment. Maybe more than a moment. Maybe a small eternity.

“So... Weird night, huh?”, started Stiles awkwardly. “Your sister, back from the dead. Some crazy dude walking around, sacrificing virgins. Lydia having visions – right, didn't tell you about that yet. So, the thing is, Lydia woke up, in the middle of the night, drove out to the drugstore, ended up at the pool with a dead body. No memories of getting there. New kind of crazy, huh? The last time she lost control over herself like that was when Peter used her to be brought back to the dead. So... any more relatives of you who want to come back from the dead? Or maybe that's linked with the sacrifices, like they need that _and_ Lydia to bring back... whatever... How did your sister come back anyway? Road along with Peter back then, or what?”

He expected a 'Shut up, Stiles', or a growl, or a threat. But all he got was a shrug and a sigh.

“I don't know”, muttered Derek, shaking his head. “They weren't quite talkative. Not as talkative as you, at least. One of your teachers saw them. Me. Not sure what she saw. Human sacrifices?”

“Yup”, nodded Stiles, popping the 'p'. “What... do you think? About all of this? Your sister?”

“Peter said the Alpha of Alphas wants me in his pack, but for that I need to kill my pack”, stated Derek monotonously. “He made them feral to force me into killing them.”

“And they tracked down your sister because by definition, she's still part of the Hale Pack and became, on the long run, your Beta too? So all members of the Hale Pack are here?”, concluded Stiles thoughtful. “Still leaves the questions how she lived, where she was and how the freaking Alpha Pack knew about her and how to find her. Hopefully, she'll provide some answers when she wakes up again, mh? For now... Wow. You got another family member. Not just Peter the Creeper.”

Derek laughed softly at the name and shook his head. “Yes, it... seems that way.”

“Wow”, repeated Stiles, his voice soft.

They fell back into silence, good silence. Safe silence. Everyone was safe. Stiles turned onto his side to look at Derek, one arm folded under the side of his head for comfort.

“That was one hell of a night and I know you probably have the urge to rip my throat out at the end of this sentence, but... I'm proud of you”, whispered Stiles with a small grin. “You worked together with hunters. You saved lives. Especially so those of Boyd and Cora. You _freed_ Boyd. And found your sister. You've become one hell of an Alpha, Sourwolf. And I'm proud to be part of your pack. If those Alpha-idiots really think you'd kill your pack, they're sourly mistaken and they'll regret it.”

Derek too turned, to face Stiles. A small smile on his face at his mate's faith. That was how they fell asleep, after a long night without rest. Later, when Isaac checked on them, he found them with Derek's arms wrapped securely around Stiles' waist. He grinned and closed the door again.


	13. Twins and Terror

Chapter 12: Twins and Terror

 

It felt good, being back at school. Well, it was a little bit of a change for Erica, the way things were working at the moment. She walked to school, together with Lydia and Allison. The strawberry-blonde had stolen her right after Erica had gotten out of Derek's car. So Lydia was part of the pack, Erica had already started to adjust to that. She was more weary about Allison.

“How does it work? I mean, you and Boyd came with Derek...?”, asked Allison curiously.

“We live with him”, shrugged Erica, hands deep in the pockets of her leather jacket. “Talked to my parents, told them me and Boyd ran away because we want to be together. They were way too upset to protest much. I got to attend family dinners on Sundays, as long as I stay in touch. They were far too scared to have lost me forever to really forbid me from living with Derek. I think they think I joined a cult or something, but whatever.”

“Lucky you”, sighed Lydia dramatically. “Say, what about Cora...? She talked?”

“No”, snorted Erica and shook her head. “Stubbornly silent. Peter stayed with her when Derek brought me, Boyd and Isaac to school. I don't think we trust her just yet.”

“Sounds safer that way”, muttered Allison beneath her breath.

 

/break\

 

“Yesterday, we had this dog in, Bullet, cute little thing”, started Scott as he undressed himself.

“Good for you, man”, nodded Stiles slowly, a little confused.

They were in the locker room, getting changed before training. “His owner disappeared.”

“Oh”, grunted Stiles and making a face. “Do you think he was a virgin? Did he give off any... virgin-vibes or something like that? Like, did he look like a virgin?”

“He wasn't a virgin, Deaton makes me sleep with all our customers now”, replied Scott seriously.

Stiles stared at him shocked for a second before realizing his best friend was kidding him. Frowning upset, he hit the werewolf, instead turning his attention to the laughing Betas. Isaac and Danny were having a wonderful time laughing at his demise. Boyd was still pretty silent. Well, he had always been a quiet guy, but since they had freed him, he had barely talked at all. Jackson snickered a little and clapped Scott on the shoulder before walked up to their coach, talking about Cross Country.

“Maybe you should finally go and ask Derek, I'm sure he'd like to take your v-card, Stilinksi”, stated Jackson as he joined them again. “I'm looking forward to the trip. Away from all the crazy shit that is going down here. I just hope our glorious Alpha keeps Lyd safe.”

“You don't hope, you know”, corrected Danny. “And stop making fun of Stiles. I feel bad for him.”

“Yeah, me too. Imagine being a seventeen-years old virgin”, sighed Jackson dramatically.

Isaac snickered slightly, nudging Stiles softly. “What about The Boyfriend? He's still not up for the task? Does he have like a medical condition, or what? You've been dating for months.”

“Don't ask me”, sighed Stiles and shook his head. “Something always gets between his dick and me, like the cosmos doesn't want me to have sex with him! Well, fuck you, cosmos!”

“Ladies, so nice you have such a good chat”, interrupted the coach, placing one hand on Stiles' shoulder, the other on Isaac's, before screaming loudly. “How about you do some running?!”

Isaac and Stiles winced and the whole team got outside to get ready for what the coach so kindly suggested. It were times like these that Stiles was glad he didn't have a werewolf's hearing. Him and Isaac were just about to tie their shoes and Stiles could see Jackson approaching, probably with another jibe on the tip of his tongue, Danny behind him and trying to keep him from poking any more fun on their pack virgin. But before he could, Stiles yelped and jumped up, accidentally hitting Jackson in the nose. Not that he minded. The co-captain groaned.

“Jesus, Stilinski, seriously?”, grunted Jackson, righting his nose.

“Ethan!”, exclaimed Stiles loudly, waving his arms around and grinning.

“Wait, Ethan as in, The Boyfriend?”, asked Isaac curiously.

Danny exchanged a curious look with Jackson. All four wolves turned toward the twins.

“Oh. Nice. If I wouldn't have Isaac...”, drawled Danny and wiggled his eyebrows.

“You _have_ Isaac though”, grunted Isaac with a slight glare before turning to the other wolves.

Scott grinned a little. He was glad his best friend had finally found someone. Even Jackson looked impressed (he had been the firmest believer of 'The boyfriend is only in Stiles' head'). At least until Boyd caught up to them (other members of the team had asked about a dozen of questions about where he had been). The big guy wolved out once he followed his pack's line of sight.

“Dude, chill out!”, hissed Stiles wide-eyed. “Maybe you should have stayed home longer!”

“That's them”, growled Boyd, flexing his claws. “The Alpha twins.”

“No. No, that's my boyfriend Ethan and that's Allison's boyfriend Aiden”, corrected Stiles.

“I'm going to kill them”, growled Boyd and pushed past them.

Ethan grinned and winked at Stiles before flashing red eyes and his fangs at Boyd in a provocative manner. Stiles was pretty sure his heart stopped. And then they ran. Ethan and Aiden running off, with Scott, Jackson, Boyd and Isaac growling and running after them. This was a nightmare.

“Stiles? Are you alright?”, whispered Danny softly, concerned.

“Go after them. Stop them from killing the twins. If the twins are Alphas, there is no way they'd stand a chance against them and we're in the middle of _training_ , for crying out loud!”, rambled Stiles, his mind trying to focus on something else. “Not here, not now, not... Just not.”

“Okay, Stiles”, nodded Danny and dashed off after the rest of his pack.

How was this Stiles' life? What had he done to deserve this? Groaning annoyed, he decided to run after them. Stupid, stupid wolves. As if they could take on _two_ Alphas. And it was the middle of day, the middle of classes even. Coach and all their fellow students were there, what were they _thinking_? Right, Derek's pack. No thinking involved. Just doing and maiming. Damn them. And fuck Ethan. If any of the others managed to off that Alpha, they'd be in trouble, because separating Ethan from his testicles would be Stiles' privilege. But killing-plans died when he reached them.

“At least his dead body wasn't any of you”, hissed Stiles annoyed as he caught up to the wolves.

The wolves surrounding a dead body tied to a tree. At least it seemed to have interrupted the wolf-fight. Boyd looked angry. The angriest of them. Which Stiles understood. The twins being Alphas meant they were part of the whole 'Let's kidnap and torture Boyd and Erica'-deal. Not to be thought about right now. He'd have a panic-attack if he thought about everything that entailed.

“It was them!”, growled Boyd, eyes flashing golden.

“Of course it was”, snarled Jackson viciously. “There's no way it's a coincident that they're here now and that dead bodies start piling up! Nothing in this fucking town is a coincident!”

“But don't you think it's... a little untypical for wolves to kill like _that_?”, asked Scott confused.

“Besides, they kind of look shocked too”, noted Isaac, glaring at the twins.

Isaac and Scott were busy trying to hold Jackson and Boyd back from ripping the twins up in bright daylight. Danny rested one arm draped over Stiles' shoulder, leaning down some to sniff him.

“You smell stressed, Stiles”, whispered the wolf. “Are you alright?”

“My boyfriend is a fucking Alpha who spend the last few months torturing two of my pack-mates. Yeah, I'm totally fine. Perfect. Just great. Also, dead body. Let's talk about the dead body, please.”

“The Alphas”, growled Boyd viciously. “You have no idea what they _did_ to us.”

“Still. Why would they do _this_?”, asked Scott, little convinced.

“What do you think, Stiles?”, asked Isaac with his puppy eyes.

Jackson and Boyd on one side, Scott and Isaac on the other. Stiles looked confused. Were they just trying to distract him from evil-Alpha-boyfriend, or asking because they actually wanted _him_ to decide? Urgh, mindfuck. Stiles shook his head, leaning against Danny.

“I don't know. But... yeah, there is a certain lack of... werewolfitude, you know? Why strangle, cut and leaving them to bleed out and hit them? Wolves are all about overkill, but not in that way...”

“Hah”, grunted Isaac triumphantly, sticking his tongue out at Jackson.

“Stiles?”, whispered Danny, spotting the sheriff. “Why don't go to your dad, tell him finding the body upset you too much, you want to go home for the day?”

“Seeing a body upsetting me? Have you met me? He'd never fall for that”, snorted Stiles.

“You want to spend the day in class with Growly, Growly and the twins?”, asked Danny.

Growly and Growly, aka Jackson and Boyd, turned toward him. Stiles frowned concerned and turned back to Danny, just to catch a glimpse of Ethan. It hurt. Running his fingers through his hair, he heaved a sigh. Maybe skipping for the day would be safer. For his sanity.

“Danny, Isaac, Scott. You're on watch-duty. No one is getting killed today”, ordered Stiles.

 

/break\

 

Scott took watch-duty very serious. He knew Stiles was right, after all. There had to be another way aside from killing each other. The problem however was that Jackson was a hothead and thought that taking out an Alpha would give him something like extra credits with their Alpha. Jackson had always been very sure in being the best and he wanted a chance to prove that, had wanted it since he had joined the pack. And now even more. After all, there were Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Danny and partly-maybe Scott, all other Betas and so far, Jackson had no chance to prove that he was a better Beta than the others. Scott glared concerned when Jackson went to the toilet.

“Do you want to hold it for him, or what?”, snorted Isaac skeptically.

“Aren't _you_ worried he'll do something stupid?”, hissed Scott back. “He's your pack-mate!”

“Yeah, for that _you_ worry a lot more”, pointed Isaac out, grinning a little. “You're trying to impress Stiles by watching out for us while he's not around, aren't you?”

“Why would I want to impress Stiles?”, asked Scott confused. “I mean, I want to be back in his good grades, yes, but I don't need to impress him. He's not Derek.”

“But he's the one with most influence over Derek. And you know that”, chuckled Isaac.

They were interrupted by sudden loud noises. Getting curious, the others too stood and even though Harris tried to force them to sit down again, they passed him to get out, where Aiden was leaning concerned over his brother Ethan, who looked pretty beaten up. A totally startled Jackson stood next to them. Isaac and Scott exchanged a glance and ran up to the other wolf.

“What the fuck happened?”, hissed Isaac with a glare. “No trouble! You remember?”

“I didn't fucking do anything”, snarled Jackson annoyed. “The other beat him up!”

And still Jackson got blamed. After all, why ever would Aiden beat his twin up and why would both of them lie about it? Harris looked close to an aneurism and ordered Jackson to go to detention.

 

/break\

 

Jackson glared, his hands deep in the pockets of his leather jacket. Detention. For doing nothing. Those fucking twins. His glare darkened when he saw one of the twins flirting with Allison. He remembered doing the same. Flirting with Allison to agitate Scott. Was that it? Did the Alphas try to get an insight into what was going on? Hooking up with one from the pack and the huntress?

“So... What are you in for?”, asked Jackson lowly when he and Allison sat in detention.

“Sleeping in Morrell's class”, snorted Allison with a glare. “But actually because I started asking questions. You know, she was the one to lock Derek and Isaac into the vault with Boyd and Cora.”

“Why the fuck would she do that?”, asked Jackson confused.

He felt as though the questions were just piling up. Allison shrugged, none the wiser either. Harris snarled at them to shut up and get to the library to sort it. Just great. After a little while of working in silence, Jackson figured there was some information he should share, as ordered by the Alphas. And he was not the only one calling Derek and Stiles that. Isaac did too, when the two talked.

“So, your boyfriend, he's an Alpha”, stated Jackson after a moment.

“Shut up”, grunted Allison, really not amused.

“I'm serious. The twins were at training with us. Boyd recognized them. Stiles nearly had a heart-attack”, replied Jackson honestly. “They wolved out, we fought. They tricked me into detention too. Fought each other, told Harris it was me. Bastards. Look, I don't care what went down between you and the pack last year, but you and me, we were friends, right? So, if you have to date a werewolf, at least date a goody-two-shoes like Scott and not a murderous douche.”

 

/break\

 

Danny and Isaac were in the janitor closet together, making out. Danny's hands were resting on Isaac's ass, the blonde letting his hands roam beneath Danny's shirt. At least until the door closed fully, loudly. And got locked. Isaac froze up and Danny didn't really know what to do. He knew that Isaac had panic-attacks in enclosed spaces, but normally, Stiles was there to calm him down.

“Isaac, Iz, calm down, please”, whispered Danny softly, cupping Isaac's cheeks.

A roar from outside interrupted them. Boyd ripped the door open and seconds later, Scott was hanging over Isaac, talking him down in the same way as Stiles normally did. Right, Stiles used to have his own panic-attacks, Scott probably knew how to deal with these things. Danny was relieved when Isaac was calmed down again. He pulled his blonde mate into a tight hug. He was glad that Scott had been there and he hoped the other would soon rejoin the pack. He'd be a good help.

“The twins did this”, muttered Isaac with a glare, clinging to Danny.

“They'll pay. We _can't_ let them play with us like that”, growled Danny, angry at Isaac's behalf.

No one fucked with his mate. Those twins were going to pay. No killing and maiming, but paying.

 

/break\

 

Lydia was sitting with Erica at a table, the blonde reading up on what she had missed so far, while Lydia was on the phone with Stiles. The son of the sheriff kept talking about some cult in Calcutta that sacrificed one baby each day and Lydia just let him talk. It seemed to be one of those days when Stiles just needed to ramble. Something must have happened. Erica cocked one eyebrow. Lydia shrugged in reply, marking a passage in the book for the blonde.

“Look, Stiles, human sacrifices and all is okay, but even so, we know Kyle from today wasn't a virgin, which means if this is a human sacrifice, they may have sacrificed virgins first, but now they started another circle. So we won't know anything until someone else dies”, pointed Lydia out.

“Right. Yeah. But still, this must be some soft of sacrifices. This wasn't the Alphas”, declared Stiles.

He was stubborn about this point. He didn't want it to be the Alphas. Lydia sighed.

“And if so, then... shouldn't we leave this up to your father? You know , the sheriff, responsible for non-supernatural killings?”, said Lydia in a soft voice, knowing what Stiles thought about this.

“Lyd is right!”, agreed Erica loudly. “What if it's just a freaky serial-killer? Leave it be, Stiles. We have enough supernatural trouble, so just... stick with the trouble we already have, Batman.”

 

/break\

 

Allison, Erica, Lydia, Scott, Isaac, Jackson, Danny and Boyd were meeting up in the library, making plans. It oddly felt like the old times to Allison. She had missed conspiring with the others to take out evil. Well, she would prefer if evil wasn't her _boyfriend_. She glared angered as they got to work. She knew which ones were the bikes from the twins. Which one was Aiden's. So she hotwired it for Isaac. The pack – or group, because Scott and her had been there too – had decided that the three who had fallen victim to the twins today would repay them. After all, if this would go according to Boyd and Erica, there would be limb-by-limb-ripping happening. So Scott, Lydia and Danny were busy with keeping those two from killing anyone. Jackson looked relatively pleased as he and Scott walked into Blake's class together with the twins. The twins looked confused, at least until Jackson started to unpack bike-parts and oh, did that Beta look pleased with himself. Aiden however looked furious and before his brother could hold him back, Aiden rushed out at the faint sound of engines. Isaac came speeding toward him on his bike and Aiden felt the urge to break Isaac in two. But once Aiden stopped the bike, Isaac jumped off it. Leaving Aiden holding his bike by the time Blake and the rest of the class got out. Jackson cocked one eyebrow, wondering how stupid Blake was to actually fall for that and give the boy who had been sitting in her class not two minutes ago a suspension for riding his bike in-doors. But her stupidity played into their claws, so he was fine.

 

/break\

 

Derek was pacing the room, growling to himself. So his dead sister was back. And she was pissed. Not that _she_ had any right to be pissed. She had made him believe she was dead and was... where exactly? She had been eleven back then! What did an eleven years old do all on her own? Not that she was talking or anything. They had done nothing but fighting since this morning.

And the fighting continued when two of the Alphas walked in and started an actual physical fight. Weirdly enough, the first thought Derek had when the female ripped a pipe off the heater and impaled him on it was that he could already hear Stiles' bitchy voice 'Can't you take your wolfy-business outside?!'. Albeit the pain, he had to smile a little at the thought. And then the big boss walked in, while Derek was immobile and Cora was just frozen up. Deucalion.

“I know what you're trying to do”, growled Derek. “You want me to kill my pack, but that is never going to happen. I'm their Alpha. Their protector. So fuck off.”

“I don't want you to kill them all. I want you to kill one. You'll want to kill the rest of them on your own after that”, replied Deucalion with a smirk. “When I lost my eyesight, one of my Betas thought me not fit for the position of Alpha anymore, so he tried to take over. When I killed him, I noticed something about us Alphas. When we kill a Beta, we absorb their energy and power. Killing him made me stronger, faster, better. Ennis did it. Kali did it. You will do it too.”

“You're a crazy bastard”, snarled Derek and shook his head.

“I am the Alpha of Alphas. I am the apex of apex predators. I am death, destroyer of worlds”, replied Deucalion in a growling voice, picking up the volume at the end. “I am the Demon Wolf.”

The windows rattled, the glasses on the table broke and Cora jumped in fear. Derek wasn't as impressed by this display of crazy. He could see Stiles in his mind, rolling his eyes at the drama. Kali snarled at him and removed the pipe. Derek gasped and collapsed on the ground in pain.

 

/break\

 

Danny frowned a little confused as he watched Lydia. She wasn't in music class. And she wasn't into drawing. So why was she sitting in the music classroom, drawing a tree?

“Lyd? Are you alright?”, asked Danny softly. “That's really pretty, you know. You should join the art class. Lydia? Are you even listening to me? What are you doing here?”

Lydia blinked a couple of times and looked around. This was the music room. What was she doing here? Shaking her head, she put the pen down and turned toward her pack-mate.

“Why am I in the music room?”, asked Lydia demandingly.

“No idea”, shrugged Danny. “But I'll be out of here now, since our teacher either bailed on us or is sick. We've been waiting here for fifteen minutes now. Are you coming with me?”

The rest of the class left, but Danny remained, looking concerned at his friend. The redhead stood and walked over to the piano, as though someone else was guiding her. He followed. She cocked her head and stared at the cellphone on the piano, hitting the play button.

“Huh, strange. So the teacher must have been here, recording?”, questioned Danny confused.

But then the music stopped and was replaced by an unsettling chanting.

 

/break\

 

Stiles was bored out of his mind. He hadn't been able to talk to Lydia the whole time and his dad was busy with work and sitting around at home made him stare at the house next door. No one was home, he had already checked (with his baseball-bat in his hand and his gun in his pants). So he decided to get some information. Starting the jeep, he headed over to Deaton's.

“Look, my dad can't solve a crime in Beacon Hills without knowing about the supernatural-shit going down here. And I feel like I can't solve anything without the full information either”, grunted Stiles with a demanding glare. “I've had it up to here with secrets! I just learned that the boy I nearly lost my virginity to is an evil Alpha who tortured Erica and Boyd for months, so you could say I've had enough of not knowing, so tell me now, what do you know? Because as far as my research led me, this screams druids! And you, with your mountain ash mumbo-jumbo, you know something about them don't you? So tell me, before more people die!”

Deaton looked a little amused by his rant. “Old habits die hard, Stiles. And I have spend a lot of time pushing certain things away from me. But I can assure you, this is not the work of a druid. The word 'druid' means Wise Oak. They're close to nature and they're philosophers. Not killers.”

Stiles nodded slowly, but before he could throw any other question in, his phone rang. Frowning annoyed, he glared at the blinking DANNY. This better be important.

“The teacher is missing? Chanting? On the phone? Uhm, wait, I'm... on my way...”

Stiles heaved a sigh and looked over at Deaton. The veterinarian nodded and followed Stiles out and to the car. They drove in silence, Stiles was too busy brooding. Perhaps it were the twins after all? Heather, the other girl, that guy at the pool, Kyle, all students at the school. Now the music teacher. What all victims so far had in common was the school.

“Okay. Weird chanting”, grunted Stiles as they reached the music room. “Sacrifices? I mean, we had virgins. Is there like a code? A certain preferred group of victims, or what?”

“There are virgins, healers, philosophers, warriors...”, listed Deaton slowly.

“Warriors? Like... soldiers?”, asked Stiles, pointing at a picture of the teacher in military uniform.

“Kyle was in ROTC. Boyd told me earlier”, pointed Danny out.

“If I remember that correctly, I think Harris was in the military too...”, drawled Lydia.

The three teens exchanged a look and headed to Harris' classroom, closely followed by Deaton. The chemistry teacher wasn't there, but pens and papers scattered on the desk indicated that he had been, not too long ago. Stiles frowned confused at the grades on the paper. R? Heck, Harris hated him and Stiles knew that Harris would _love_ to give him an R, but...? Checking the other papers, they found more strange grades. Deaton took over and rearranged them, until the letters read DARACH.

“What's that?”, asked Danny intrigued. “A darach?”

“It means 'dark oak'. They're druids who have strayed from their path...”, replied Deaton.

 

/break\

 

Derek frowned a little annoyed as he sat on his Alpha-chair. Cora was upstairs in her room, of course she was. Why would she partake in pack-business? Boyd, Erica and Isaac were sitting on one couch, Allison, Jackson and Scott on the other. They were trading stories, more or less.

“So the brothers you and Stiles have been dating, they're... part of the Alpha-pack?”, asked Derek.

He gritted his teeth, his claws digging deep into the armrest of the chair. This was going entirely too far. They kidnapped three members of his pack, invaded their den and _dated_ Derek's mate?

“Okay, who did what and when? And how many are hurt?”, grunted Stiles the moment he entered.

He was followed by Danny and Lydia, who squeezed in on the couches next to their mates. Derek turned a little toward his mate and saw how uncomfortable and tired Stiles looked.

“Yeah, no more of the pitiful glances for the human who got fooled by the Alpha-twin”, grunted Stiles annoyed. “Danny, Lydia. Tell them about the darach. I'll be upstairs, taking a nap and then going to sleep until like tomorrow morning. I'm staying the night here. Really not looking forward to staying home alone while dad is off to work five cases at once. Night.”

“I think he really took the whole evil-twin thing badly”, whispered Isaac concerned.

“I'm not really throwing a party about it either”, muttered Allison with a glare. “But at least he wasn't my _first_ boyfriend. I'm really feeling bad for him...”

“Maybe I should go and talk to him...”, suggested Scott and stood, looking concerned.

“No”, grunted Derek and stood himself, pinning Scott with a look. “He doesn't need your upset puppy eyes. I'll take care of my pack. I'm the Alpha, Scott.”

With that, he left to climb the stairs. Scott was a good guy and Stiles' best friend, but he was also very heavy on the pitiful looks and Derek had a feeling that was not what Stiles needed. When he entered the teen's bedroom, he found Stiles curled together on the bed, body shaking.

“Are you having a panic-attack, Stiles?”, asked Derek, panicking a little himself.

Stiles huffed and threw his pillow at him. “I'm _crying_. So would you _please_ leave me alone to cry? I'm feeling pathetic enough on my own. Fuck, he just... because I'm part of your pack, nothing more... The only time a guy would be interested in me is to get back at the pack. The one thing I thought wouldn't be about the pack... I nearly lost my virginity to the enemy!”

“Stiles...”, started Derek concerned and sat down.

He took a slow breath and decided to, once again, listen to his wolf, because his human-side was at its end. He crawled into the bed next to Stiles and laid his arms around the human, hugging him. He held his crying mate while Stiles continued to ramble on about stupid Alpha darachs messing with them. Derek held him and told him it would be alright until Stiles fell asleep, snuggled up to Derek.

 

/break\

 

Jackson, Danny and Isaac were on one side of their Alpha, Boyd, Erica and Cora on the other. They were fighting against the Alphas. Derek had asked them to. To go to this fight. Seeing Stiles like this had been the last reason Derek had needed. The Alphas would go down, or at the very least, they would get a beat-down so they'd know they were messing with the wrong pack. Scott had come too and so had Allison. He had left Peter to watch over Stiles, who was still asleep. The older wolf had been more than willing to sit this one out. Figured. Lydia had stayed at the den too.

It was a mess of bodies. The pack tried to land strikes, but even Jackson had to agree that those Alphas were strong. Even two-on-one, they stood no chance. And just as the big guy was pinning Isaac and short of ripping the blonde head off, Derek interjected. Ending with Ennis and Derek falling over the edge of the floor. The thud of their bodies hitting the ground echoed through the empty mall, but when the Alphas laid off the pack and the Betas went to check, both bodies were gone. Was he dead? Had he fled? How were they supposed to explain this to Stiles?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is officially the last chapter I have saved up. No daily updates anymore, you guys gotta wait until I manage to finish a new chapter from now on!
> 
> Next chapter will cover the Motel California chaos!


	14. Suicide and Survival

Chapter 13: Suicide and Survival

Isaac's eyes wandered through the bus nervously. The air was thick, he could probably cut it with a knife if he'd try. His hand was dangling beside his seat and the boy on the seat behind him had their fingers linked. The contact with his mate made Isaac calm a little. He'd feel better if they'd be sitting next to each other, but Jackson and Boyd were on edge so the couple had split to block their best friends and keep them from doing something dangerous and stupid. Danny was sitting next to Jackson and Isaac was sitting next to Boyd in the row before them. What made Isaac so nervous was the fact that Stiles was completely calm. No, not calm. But still. He had barely moved ever since they had entered the bus and started their journey to the meeting. Since the pack had met up with him and had to tell him what had happened at the mall.

Derek had wanted revenge. Had wanted to end this once and for all. Hale Pack versus Alpha Pack. But they stood no real chance against a pack of Alphas and now their own Alpha was... lost. Hopefully only hurt and hiding somewhere. Maybe... dead. Telling Stiles had been the hard part. They had all felt angry at the Alphas and guilty for not telling Stiles sooner. Instead of a rant or disappointment, Stiles had somehow just shut down. Now he was sitting silently next to Scott.

Stiles wasn't the only one to be worried about though, because Boyd and Jackson kept glaring daggers at Ethan. They wanted to attack, to avenge, to _kill_. But they were on a bus, with their coach and their very mortal lacrosse team, on the way to their blasted meeting. Instead of staying back with Peter, Chris, Cora and Erica to keep searching for Derek. Allison and Lydia were following the bus, probably to make sure they wouldn't do anything stupid on the trip. Isaac felt like a caged animal and so did his pack mates probably, stuck in the bus, unable to help or act or do _something_.

"Why's your wound not healing?", whispered Stiles, but the wolf-hearing still picked it up.

The heads of the Betas snapped over to Stiles. It had been the first thing Stiles had said ever since they had confessed about the fight and about Derek's disappearance. Danny frowned and sniffed the air, noticing the scent of Scott's blood. He had received that injury during the fight yesterday, but even inflicted by an Alpha, it should have healed by now. Danny shifted some toward Stiles.

"What do you think it means, Stiles?", asked Danny softly, just to get his nose flipped. "Ouch."

"Not talking to you", grunted Stiles with a leveled, angry glare, first directed at Danny and then going to Jackson, Boyd and Isaac. "We're _pack_ and you completely excluded me from a ridiculous and dangerous decision, don't even mind the fact that you excluded me from the mission that followed and now our Alpha is missing, presumably dead. No. You get the silent treatment."

The Betas actually looked like kicked puppies at that, but Stiles ignored them. He was angry and frustrated and confused and out of his mind. Derek had gone and done something completely idiotic and now no one knew where their Sourwolf was. He just prayed Chris and the others would find Derek, or so help him god, he would resurrect that moron just to kick him in the balls!

/break\

Erica shifted uncomfortably as they walked through the large, abandoned mall where the two packs had fought yesterday. She was walking next to Chris Argent and even after everything the Argents had done, she felt oddly comfortable with the hunter. He was a good guy – Stiles had promised her that he was different, that they could trust him. And right now, it was better than being with what little of her pack was still here. With her sensitive wolf-hearing, she could pick up on the conversation between Cora and Peter, happening at the other end of the mall. They obviously distrusted each other, after Laura's death and the weird, missing years of Cora, there was no reason either should trust the other. It was still unsettling to have her pack members being hostile. Erica liked Cora, she and Boyd had been stuck with her for months so there was that, but she understood where Peter was coming from. Cora's story was more than shady. Her phone buzzed, startling her.

"News?", asked Chris next to her, examining the scene, turning toward her questioningly.

"Just Lydia", replied Erica, frowning as she stared at her phone. "She's... worried that being with Aiden may influence Allison. In a bad way, the kind we already witnessed happening. And she said that they had run out of gas. They'll tag along with the team on the bus."

Chris grunted and turned away again. He didn't like that the two human girls had decided to follow the lacrosse team, but he understood. After all, he was doing his best to help too. And despite what had happened in the past, he found himself hoping that Derek Hale was still alive, because over the summer the young Hale had proven to be a pretty decent Alpha.

/break\

Stiles would have never thought he'd be in a situation where he'd be glad that someone was puking their guts out, but surprisingly, he was right now. Scott's side was still bleeding with the scratches he had gotten in the most idiotic fight ever (yes, Stiles was still fuming), they needed to stop the bus. So thanks to Jared's motion-sickness and the coach's sensitive stomach when it came to others vomiting, they were currently making an unplanned stop. Which was good, because Lydia and Allison had been able to check on Scott's wound – yes, Stiles was still angry with his Betas and he felt far better with the other two humans around right about now. Lydia was sure the wound was somotaformic. Scott blamed himself for Derek's whatever (not death, because the stupid Sourwolf was not allowed to just go and die on Stiles like that), so his mind caused the physical pain. Stiles and Lydia had left Scott and Allison alone so Allison could stitch Scott up, in the hopes that believing he was healing would actually make Scott heal. Right now, Stiles also regretted that. Leaving them, that is. Because now he was outside and had to watch Jackson and Boyd wolving out, ready to attack Ethan and tear him apart for Derek's death, Scott's injuries, Stiles' silence. They needed some way to release all their anger and honestly, the enemy seemed a good enough target. Still, it didn't sit right with Stiles to see his _ex_ -boyfriend die on a school trip.

"Jackson! Boyd!", called Stiles out firmly, causing both Betas to instantly freeze up.

Stiles blinked surprised and so did Lydia, who stared at him thoughtful. This kind of effect was normally reserved to an annoyed Derek. Something was utterly strange here.

/break\

Deaton knew that something was wrong. The biggest evidence for that was the Alpha Pack in his practice, especially so the half-dead Alpha he was currently laying on his examination table. If not for his younger sister's safety, he would have never let Deucalion and his pack through the mountain ash barrier, but Deucalion had threatened Marin's life. It was against his nature to take care of the enemy, he was the adviser of the Hale Pack, after all. He just hoped that they were alright.

"He is going to make it", stated Deaton neutrally, staring over at Deucalion.

But while Deaton washed his hands, he watched in horror how Deucalion crushed Ennis' skull with his hands. It probably shouldn't surprise Deaton as much as it did, after all, the very definition of the Alpha Pack was to kill pack-members. And now Deucalion could tell the others that Ennis had died from the injuries he had received from the Hale Pack, further fueling the hatred.

/break\

"Some ancient cultures sacrifice humans before a great battle", stated Lydia with a frown.

"So we're thinking Alphas versus Darachs", concluded Stiles with a frown that matched Lydia.

"And we somehow got dragged into the middle of this", grunted Danny displeased.

"Yup. Sounds just like a typical Wednesday in the world of the Hale Pack", snorted Stiles annoyed.

Lydia was sitting in the back-row with Stiles, Jackson and Danny. Scott and Allison were sitting on one side in front of them and Boyd and Isaac on the other side. While Scott and Allison were talking in semi-hushed voices, Lydia was discussing with Danny and Stiles what was happening. The Beta was already glad enough that Stiles was talking to them again, albeit he was still glaring.

/break\

The search-party had decided to split up again. Peter and Chris had decided to head to Deaton's to consult the veteran and they had send the girls home, in case Derek may be heading back to the den. Erica was only mildly uncomfortable with Cora's icy silence, but she blamed it on the conversation Peter and Cora had earlier. Cora refused to reveal where she had been in the past six years, or why she had never returned home again and Erica didn't feel like it was her place to pry. On their way to the den, they passed the sheriff's house and nearly ran someone over with their car. Erica hit the braces hard and both climbed out of the car to find a half-dead Derek in front of it.

"Oh god, Derek!", exclaimed Erica and leaned down. "Help me get him into the car!"

But why was Derek here? At Stiles' home? He must be delusional with pain and even in that state, he sought out Stiles...? After hoisting Derek into the car, Erica automatically grabbed her cellphone, just to find that her battery had died down. Not that it mattered now, first the girls needed to get Derek to safety and patched up, they could call the others later. The den was closest, they needed to bring him there and take care of him. Call Peter so he could bring Deaton with them.

/break\

The Glen Capri Motel did not inspire happy thoughts. Not at all. Stiles was already nervous and unsettled enough as it was, he didn't need some horror-movie motel to top it all off. Coach ordered the two girls to share a room obviously, but since Stiles felt uncomfortable about leaving Jackson unsupervised, he split Danny and Isaac up and told them to stay with Jackson and Boyd respectively. He himself was currently laying in his room with Scott, discussing their suspects. He was still angry at _all_ the wolves, but more so at his Betas than at Scott. After all, the poor moron was beating himself up enough with guilt already, so punishing him would only make it worse.

"Harris", started Scott with a small grin, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. "I mean, just because he's missing doesn't mean he's dead, right? Maybe he's hiding in his villain-lair, plotting world-domination. He's always been a jerk. It totally could be him."

It earned him a laugh from Stiles and that had really been what he had been aiming for. "Deaton, maybe. I mean, his whole Obin Wan thing is kind of weird. I still don't get where he stands exactly."

"No. Not Deaton", objected Scott and made a face. "Cora? I mean... sudden Hale, no explanation where she's been or why she showed up right now and how she got captured by the Alphas, huh?"

"Yeah... I've been thinking that too", sighed Stiles and made a face. "I just don't want to be the one to tell Derek 'Hey, this living relative of yours turns out to be a psychopathic murderer too', ya know? Which reminds me of Peter, which makes me wonder... I mean, Lydia had been controlled by Peter before, maybe she got manipulated by someone again. She found a body and doesn't even remember how. I'm not comfortable with the idea, but..."

"Or like with Matt. Someone who no one would suspect, pulling the strings from the background..."

" _I_ suspected Matt _right from the start_ ", protested Stiles with a huff. "I also have my money on Argent Anonymous – it's what I call any potential Argent out there. I mean, come on, I like Chris and most of the time also Allison, but _each_ Argent we met so far had managed to somehow hurt our pack, Chris and Allison included there even though we trust them now. Maybe there's another sibling of Chris and Kate, or grandma Argent wants to avenge Gerard's death..."

Scott shuddered at the idea of some mean hag haunting them like a wicked witch. They fell into a nearly uncomfortable silence and after a little while, Scott fell asleep due to the pain. Stiles sighed and got up to wash up and maybe catch some sleep too after that. Turning the water on, he threw a handful into his face, but he was startled when he stood again and looked into the mirror after drying his face. The face that stared back at him was his alright, but those weren't his eyes. They were glowing red. Deep, bright red. Alpha red. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he found everything gone back to normal when he opened them again. Weird. All this craziness was starting to drive him crazy. Heaving a sigh, he decided to draw himself a relaxing bath. At least one member of this pack needed to stay sane and in control while everyone was on a murderous rampage.

/break\

While Stiles was taking a bath, his Betas were busying themselves with other things. Danny was trying to have a conversation with Boyd when the two of them met at the snack machine, but the big guy was oddly grumpy, even for his standards and when the machine wouldn't give him the number 201, Boyd just put his fist through the automate and took what he wanted before running off, leaving a startled Danny to stare after him uncomfortably and unsure.

Jackson and Lydia all the while were getting new towels at the reception, because Lydia disapproved of the nicotine smell on theirs and Allison was in the middle of a shower, so she had offered to go and fetch new towels. In a creepy hotel like this, she refused to go alone though, so she had demanded for Jackson to accompany her. What they found was a little unsettling. A counter of suicides – 198 in the last forty years. What kind of motel was _proud_ of their suicide-rate?

With everyone out and about, Isaac was trying to watch TV, distract himself from the thought of his Alpha being dead. But there was just nothing on. Not a single channel. When he reached 201, he switched it off and rolled over, staring up at the ceiling fan annoyed.

And Allison, well, she tried to enjoy her shower, waiting for Lydia with the towels. So when the bathroom door opened, she expected Lydia to return. But she was startled out of her skin to come face to face with Scott. A blush dusted her cheeks as she found herself naked with her ex.

"Aiden doesn't deserve you", stated Scott seriously, but with an odd look on his face. "You deserve better. Wasn't I good enough? Why can't I have you? I'm a better wolf than Aiden."

"It's not about your wolf", stated Allison firmly. "I thought... he was... human. It's not... We're not... You should go, Scott. We're not together anymore. Not Aiden and me, not you and me either."

"But we could be. We should be", countered Scott and pulled her into a short kiss.

But as sudden as he had appeared, he was gone again, leaving Allison startled and flustered. When she returned to their bedroom, Lydia was already eagerly awaiting her to tell her about the suicide-counter. That was perhaps a little unsettling. Just like Lydia suddenly freezing up in the middle of the conversation and standing in front of the air vent like it held all the answers.

"Lydia? Is... everything alright?", asked the huntress concerned, walking up to her best friend.

Lydia jumped, her hands clasped over her mouth. "There was a couple, didn't you hear them? They were... were talking about committing double-suicide! A—And the shot!"

Allison was seriously concerned by this turn of events. It reminded her a lot of Lydia's behavior while Peter was using her to come back from the death. Still, Lydia's instincts were good and she looked seriously worried, so to calm her down, Allison suggested for them to go and check the room next door. Just to find a lot of power tools and renovation equipment. No guests and surely no dead couple with a gun. Was Lydia going crazy, or was she right and the motel was haunted?

Judging by what the other members of the pack were experiencing at that very moment, Lydia's theory of a haunted motel sounded more than plausible though.

After the snack machine incident, Boyd headed out of his room once more to get ice, but a soft, pleading voice seemed to follow him, begging him not to leave her. Never would he forget his sister's voice. But it was impossible, she had been gone for so long. And as he dug deeper in the freezer, he suddenly saw Alicia's face, frozen yet opening her eyes and staring at him. Why now? Why was she haunting him now? He had disappointed her, had left her and lost her, it was all his fault, but why, why would she haunt him now? Panicked, he ran off.

With Boyd out of the room once more, Isaac found himself alone again, still staring up at the air fan, his thoughts swirling as fast as the fan above him rotated. The rattling of the fan soon seemed to sound different. Like the rattling of tools, accompanied by a voice he had once, long ago, loved, but learned to fear over the years. His father, calling him names, telling him how useless he was. Like he didn't know that. He just kept disappointing his father-figures. His father was dead, just like his mother and brother, and now he had failed the one who was like a father to him. Whimpering at the thought of what may happen with Derek gone, he found himself hiding under the bed.

Guilt was not the only thing haunting Jackson as he stood in the bathroom of his and Danny's room, staring into the broken and bloodied mirror. But the image staring back at him didn't change. A scaled face, dead eyes. And so many voices, all the voices of those he had killed as the kanima. He was angry, furious at himself for being so weak, not being able to turn into a wolf like anyone else. So many had died because of him, because he couldn't even become a proper wolf.

Danny in the bedroom didn't even notice his best friend's misery, because he was too sucked into his own thoughts. Everyone around him had banded together for months, his best friends even, not included him, not even thinking of sharing _anything_ with him. Had he not been worth knowing...?

And they weren't the only ones plagued by guilty hallucinations while Stiles was trying to relax in the tub, because when he reemerged to their bedroom, he found Scott standing at the window with a paranoid look on his face, claiming that just a second ago, Deucalion had stood there, on the street, ripping Melissa's throat out after claiming that Derek was dead and that it had been Scott's fault.

"Dude, that wasn't real", pleaded Stiles. "There's no blood, nothing. Can't we ever catch a break?"

As if on cue did his phone buzz. With one eye still on Scott, Stiles checked the text message. _Need to talk. Please_. From... Ethan? Lifting one hand and opening his mouth a couple of times, he just left. He wasn't even sure why, but maybe he somehow hoped for an explanation. He had met Ethan and Aiden in the past weeks, he at least thought so. They couldn't be cold-blooded killers. Everything Stiles and Ethan had lived through couldn't have been fake. He longed for an explanation or at least a reason _why him_. Maybe even a clear answer if... Derek was still alive.

"What do you want", grunted Stiles, sounding hostile as he entered the room. "Because I hope you're aware that I own a gun with wolfsbane bullets and if I don't like what you have to say, I will shoot you in the balls. Don't doubt I will, because right now I am _agitated_."

Ethan had the audacity to look half-amused by this. "You're worried about your Alpha."

"No", stated Stiles, shaking his head. "Because Derek is a survivor and he wouldn't abandon our pack like that. He's fine. _You_ are the one who should be worried."

"You put an awful lot of trust into him", commented Ethan and walked closer to Stiles, very slow and very casual. "But not _that much_ , huh? After all, you... still haven't taken the bite from him, mh? Must feel awful, being the only human in your pack. Well, Lydia, but... even she had the bite. Just didn't take, did it? But you, you are _the only one_ your dear Alpha doesn't want. Don't you feel pathetic stuck with this pack, with an Alpha who doesn't think you're worthy of the bite?"

Stiles glared as he was backed up against the door, Ethan's hands left and right of his head. "He never offered me the bite, because he _knows_ I wouldn't want it. I'm human and proud."

"That's... what makes you so special", whispered Ethan, one hand on Stiles' cheek, leaning in more. "The human who runs with wolves, not backing down, regardless of the danger..."

Stiles was frozen, too surprised to actually react to the kiss that followed. But he didn't have to, because Ethan was too distracted by his own brand of hallucinations, the feeling of being ripped apart, of his brother and him parting after a merge. Panic took over Ethan and he ran out of the room, leaving an even more startled Stiles on his own. What was _wrong_ with this guy, seriously?! Angry, frustrated, confused, disappointed and also quite upset, Stiles left Ethan's room again and decided that he needed some kind of non-supernatural disaster since the wolves seemed to lose.

"Ladies! What are you up to?", asked Stiles cheerfully as he entered the girls' room.

"Well, Lydia thinks the motel is haunted and needs to be exorcised", stated Allison with a deadpan, pointing at Lydia who was holding a bible. "There is a counter for suicides at the reception and it had been on 198 earlier, but when I just went, it was up to 201. So... we think someone will die."

"Three... someones", pointed Stiles out, sitting down on the foot-end of Lydia's bed. "As in, the Darach's favorite number of deaths. As in, we _once again_ can't catch a break."

"I noticed that Jackson was behaving really strange when I wanted to check on him. He had himself locked up in the bathroom, not responding _at all_ and Danny was just laying on the bad, looking like a sad puppy when I asked him what was going on", stated Lydia with a frown.

"Mh. Scott was acting weird too earlier", frowned Stiles worried. "And Ethan... uhm, not that I was talking to Ethan or anything. But I think something is affecting our local lycantropes."

"I'm _telling_ you!", huffed Lydia. "This motel needs an exorcism! Or just... burn it down."

She shook the bible to prove her point, but as she did so, a newspaper article fell out of it. Frowning confused, Lydia held it up and shook it some more, just to find more articles. All concerning deaths occurring in this very room of the motel. It gave Lydia an idea, because if the bible in this room contained such articles, maybe the bible next door had an article about her Romeo and Juliet ghosts with the gun. Motioning for Allison and Stiles to follow her, she headed back to the other room. Not that they had a chance to check the bible, because when they went in, they found Ethan with the chainsaw on, seemingly trying to cut himself in two. It was a split-second decision and maybe not the brightest idea Stiles had ever had, but he lunged at Ethan and tried to wrestle the chainsaw out of Ethan's hands. If not for Lydia being so clever and pulling the plug, Stiles wasn't so sure he would have lived through that encounter. But Ethan still seemed set on splitting his torso apart, trying with his claws. It took both Allison and Stiles to stop him and if they wouldn't have stumbled back against the space heater, burning Ethan and bringing his out of the crazed idea of cutting his twin out of his body, the two humans probably wouldn't have lasted long.

"Okay, behaving crazy is one thing, trying to kill himself is entirely different", stated Stiles stunned.

"We need to check on our wolves", stated Allison wide-eyed. "I'll go and look for Scott."

"I'll check on Jackson and Danny, you go for Isaac and Boyd, Stiles?", suggested Lydia.

Stiles nodded hastily and the three humans split up to save their wolves. He ran up to Boyd's and Isaac's room and didn't even bother knocking. Why should he, the door wasn't even closed. Scanning the room, he saw no one, so he headed for the bathroom, just to find Boyd laying in the tub with a freaking save on his chest. Just great, how was he supposed to solve _that_? He tried to unplug the tub, but the blasted thing was stuck. Of course it was. Despair took over as he realized he couldn't help the Beta. Stumbling backward, staring wide-eyed at Boyd, he hit the heater on the wall, burning his arm. Hissing annoyed, he turned to glare at the stupid thing. His eyes widened in realization. The heat had knocked some sense into Ethan, maybe it could work with Boyd too? But where the fuck was he supposed to get... Oh. Oh, that was brilliant! They had the road flares in the bus, he just _really_ needed to hurry. Running back to the bus, he came past Jackson's and Danny's room, getting a glimpse of Lydia holding onto Danny's waist who was hanging off the fan.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh...", chanted Stiles as he made a detour, getting his pocket knife out to cut the bedsheets, making Danny and Lydia crash on the bed. "Heat. Fire. Getting the road flares from the bus, you keep him from hanging himself again and... oh crap. I'll hurry."

The last 'oh crap' was dedicated to Jackson laying in his own blood in the bathroom, with a razor in one hand. Stiles was to equal parts glad and angry that he wasn't a wolf. With the strength, he could have lifted the fault off, with the fastness he could already have the road flares. But as a wolf, he would probably currently try to kill himself too. He got the road flares, throwing two into Danny's room without looking, hearing a faint 'Thank goodness' from Lydia before getting back to Boyd's room. Once Boyd was burned, he reacted on his own and threw the save off his chest, resurfacing to catch a large breath. He looked relatively sane again, so Stiles turned back to the bedroom, wondering where Isaac was. If not for a faint whimper coming from under the bed, he would have wasted precious time searching for the blonde pup. Crawling under the bed, he held the burning road flare against Isaac's leg for long enough to snap him out of it. Two down, three more to go. He had no time to see if Boyd and Isaac were okay, because he needed to help the girls. Covered in blood and looking exhausted, Lydia joined him on the hallway, signaling with a short nod that they were fine. Now all they needed to do was find Scott and... Allison. There she was, but without Scott. She looked worried and shook her head. Great, of course that moron had to get lost.

"Where could he be?", asked Allison concerned. "He wasn't anywhere in the motel..."

"Well, then he has to be _outside_ the...", started Stiles as they exited the motel.

He froze up, together with Lydia and Allison. Scott was outside the motel. Covered in gasoline and holding a road flare. That was _really_ over-dramatic. Stiles decided never to go on a field trip again.

"This is all my fault", stated Scott, looking like a sad puppy. "Derek is dead and if I had never been turned, all of it wouldn't have happened. Not to us, Stiles. I can't do this. I'm no good. I was a bad Beta, I'm an even worse Omega, because I got Derek killed. Not even _you_ want to be in a pack with me, Stiles. I just want to... go back to being nobody, when it was just us and we were nobodies."

"You never were a nobody, Scott", declared Stiles firmly and took a step forward, into the puddle of gasoline. "You were always my best friend. We're brothers, Scott. And if you want to kill yourself, you better just take me with you. I won't let you die, not alone. Because you're part of _my_ pack."

He actually managed to take the road flare from Scott and throw it away, but the wind picked up and it rolled back toward the puddle. Once again, it was Lydia who saw what had to be done. She just jumped them and pushed them out of harm's way just in time for the gasoline to catch fire. But as she turned to look at it, she saw a horribly disfigured person amidst the flames.

"What... happened...?", asked Isaac softly as he, Boyd, Jackson and Danny stepped outside.

/break\

It was a good thing the coach didn't ask questions when he found the whole pack huddled together on the bus, rather sleeping there than in the motel. Stiles found himself immensely relieved that the meeting had been canceled, because he really just wanted to go home.

"You saved my life yesterday", stated Ethan as he sat down next to Stiles, causing the Betas to stiffen and glare at him. "So... let me warn you. We _think_ that Derek is still alive, but... Ennis isn't. And there are only two ways this can go now. Either he joins us, or Kali will avenge her mate."

"He's not going to kill _any_ of the Betas and the Betas and I won't let you guys kill him."

There was a firmness to his voice that even startled him a little. He watched out of the corner of his eyes how Lydia, Danny and Allison noticed a purple stain on the coach's shirt and concluded that the whistle had been spiked with wolfsbane, slowly poisoning the wolves every time the coach blew the whistle. But all of that were more background noises when Ethan's face came closer. But this time, Stiles dodged the kiss, just as his phone buzzed. Getting up and leaving Ethan alone, he sat down in the back row, between Isaac and Scott, checking his phone.

 _Sorry for worrying you. Tell the Betas I'm fine_ – Derek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will feature Derek NOT killing Boyd, Deaton getting kidnapped, Deucalion's origins and why he's in Beacon Hills to begin with - since I'll be keeping Derek the Alpha and always found the True Alpha stuff completely ridiculous, that is not going to be it and Scott's not the one the Alphas are after.


	15. Mates and Alphas

Chapter 14: Mates and Alphas

Derek wasn't sure how to deal with the situation. Which in itself was a feeling he had entirely too often. So he had screwed up, again. Nearly got killed, again. Endangered his pack, again.

His pack had returned from the trip, his Betas (or rather Lydia, because she was the most capable of expressing herself compared to the boys who awkwardly and sort of embarrassed stumbled over their own words) filled him in on what had happened. Right now, the majority of his pack was here, with him. At their den, safe. Bonding, after what had happened to all of them. Derek all the while was upstairs in his room, alone with Stiles. Which brought him to the situation he didn't know how to handle. The human looked angry – and Derek didn't remember ever having seen him like that.

"You told everyone", stated Stiles calmly, breaking the silence. "Everyone. Every wolf. Even Scott, who you always claim is not part of this pack. Everyone but me."

"I knew you would disapprove", countered Derek with a frown, arms crossed over his arms.

"Great reason!", laughed Stiles, sounding not the least bit happy as he pointed at Derek. "Sure! Because why tell me if I'd say no anyway! And look who was right. Me. Shocker. You nearly got killed, Scott nearly crippled himself with guilt, your Betas were endangered while you were out cold. But sure, why tell the puny human anything?!"

"That's not what I meant", growled Derek, pressing the words out between clenched teeth.

"Then what did you mean?", asked Stiles sounding and looking frustrated. "Because when I joined this pack, I thought it was about being honest with each other, no more secrets. But if you'll just chose what things you want to share with me based on what you think I'd approve of anyway... then I'm out. I'm only human, I can't keep risking my life and my relationship with my dad, which grows more strained with every day thanks to this pack's secrets, over and over again for the sake of an Alpha who still doesn't trust me. Give me one good reason to stay, just one, and I'll do."

All Derek could do was stare at him with those sad, dark eyes. There were millions of things he wanted to tell Stiles, millions of feelings he had for the boy. But those were two things he wasn't good at. Using his words and dealing with his feelings. Now using his words to express his feelings? All he could do was stare at Stiles as Stiles looked at him sadly and turned around to leave without another word. And he knew he was doing the right thing. Stiles was right, he was only human and he couldn't keep risking his life over and over again – not for someone like Derek.

"Derek? Where did Stiles go? Will he come back for dinner?", asked Isaac as he entered the room.

"He's not coming back", replied Derek, voice oddly tight.

"Not... today?", inquired Isaac slowly, looking confused.

"Not at all."

/break\

John was confused when he got home that night. He had brought Melissa dinner, seeing as a big car-crash had the hospital staff completely in over their heads. It had been nice seeing her again, without their boys. Sometimes, when he saw her in her element like that, he wondered if maybe their deep, long-lasting friendship could or should become more. Their boys were already like brothers. But when the second doctor in as many days just up and disappeared, John had to once again push that thought to the back of his mind. Now that he was home, he got an entirely different problem at his hands though. Stiles was just sitting in the kitchen, not doing a _thing_. John had never seen him that still before, not even when he was asleep. Something was wrong.

"Stiles?", asked John slowly, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Are you... alright?"

"Mh?", grunted Stiles, blinking slowly and looking up. "Oh. Yeah. Just... an argument."

"Between you and...", started John, pausing for a moment. "And your boyfriend? Oh, don't look at me like that, Stiles. I'm the sheriff. Did you really think I didn't notice the... bitemarks and the way our new neighbor keeps looking at you? I'm... sorry I dismissed your sexuality when you once told me. I know I should have been more attentive and I understand that that's why you didn't intro-"

"We broke up", replied Stiles softly, staring at the table-top. "But that's... fine. It's not that. I just... I'm tired, I guess I'll go and take a nap, dad. See you tomorrow."

Between 'a nap' and 'tomorrow' was a large difference and John wanted to inquire about that breakup and whether or not he had to break someone's nose, but Stiles looked seriously devastated, so maybe letting him sleep it off would be a wise course of action. Before he could even decide to head after Stiles, his phone buzzed anyway and he found himself to the way to Deaton's clinic.

/break\

Scott was lost. Confused, desperate to help Deaton. His boss and mentor had called him that he'd be in danger and when Scott reached the animal clinic, Deaton had been gone. The sheriff was soon to arrive after and Scott was trying to figure out how to save Deaton. He couldn't reach Stiles – which in itself was already worrisome – so he called Allison. And as always, she showed him the answer. She arranged a meeting with Lydia, seeing as she seemed to be eerily good at finding people and things – this was also where Scott learned why he couldn't reach Stiles. Apparently, Derek had screwed up. Again. Still, he could comfort his best friend later on. For now, Deaton needed his help.

"Here", said Allison, handing Lydia a pen and looked serious. "It's called automatic writing. Just write whatever comes to your mind, maybe... we'll find a clue. We've already tried everything else."

'Everything else' referred to the ouija board next to them and a set of cards that Lydia had been supposed to lay. The redhead was not amused. She understood why they were trying all of this and she understood that she was _something_ , no werewolf or kamina, but something somehow. It was still entirely too frustrating when their attempts failed. At least she got Allison and Scott to work together, maybe given time, they'd do more than just work together.

"Why... are you drawing a tree?", asked Scott confused, looking over her shoulder.

All three teens paused as they heard the door opening and two voices coming closer. Lydia was fast to push Scott and Allison into the nearest closest before hiding under Allison's bed herself. Scott and Allison stared at each other in the dark, blushing a little. Scott's heart was beating a mile an hour.

"What are you doing?", whispered Allison and upon seeing his confused look, pointing down.

Scott's eyes widened comically as he realized that the proximity between them had more of an effect on her than he wanted right now. His blush darkened significantly and after a short, awkward silence, Allison decided to turn around, which was _so much worse_. This was officially one of the most embarrassing situations in Scott's life. And he had a lot of them. But Allison, being her wonderful self, just laughed, that ringing sound that Scott so loved, and looked at him. That moment as their eyes locked, his heartbeat seemed to calm down, to synch with hers and just everything seemed perfect in that one second. They both leaned in at the same time and as their lips met, it was as though the last months of being apart, the whole thing with Aiden, everything just faded away and they were back to square one. Back to love at first sight and all the happy, bubbly feelings that had made Scott do entirely ridiculous things for the sake of his mate. He laid one hand into the back of her neck to pull her close and she tilted her head in just the right way.

"That is very interesting indeed", interrupted the teasing voice of Peter them. "But enough of that Romeo and Juliet love of yours. Chris figured something out that he wished to share with me. Now if we're already stuck with the three of you, you may as well join us in his office."

They bolted apart and stared wide-eyed at the older wolf. Peter just smirked and turned around to where Lydia was sitting, an expression on her face that matched Peter's voice. Scott had a hard time focusing on what Chris told them about magical currents beneath Beacon Hills and how he narrowed the possible places where Deaton may be down to six. Six was still a lot, but they were also a lot of people. Lydia got her phone out to text the pack while Chris was still explaining.

/break\

Jackson had been in the middle of a game against Danny when Lydia texted him, something about figuring out where Deaton was. There were six locations and there were twelve of them – not counting Stiles, because he had turned off his cellphone apparently. Jackson and Danny headed out together, so did Isaac and Boyd, Lydia and Allison were already on their way to one of the locations, Cora and Erica were send to another, Scott and Chris too were on their way (albeit their little trip was accompanied with awkward conversations regarding Allison and closets) and Derek met up with Peter half-way to their destination. If only Peter would stop staring at Derek so amused and arrogantly. It was trying Derek's patience here. Growling, he glared over at his uncle.

"What do you want to say? Because the suspense is killing me", snarled Derek irritated.

"You are making a mistake. You can't keep pushing Stiles away", stated Peter, one eyebrow arched. "You can not possibly think that what you're doing is good, for anyone involved. He's your mate, he calms your wolf. He's the _Alpha mate_ – he's vital to this pack, every single member of your pack. You need to stop it with the martyr act and start taking responsibility. For yourself, your pack and your mate. He's your best shot at being happy, if you still remember what that is. And you are his."

Derek gritted his teeth some more as he stared at his uncle. But he knew he had screwed up badly. He needed to talk to Stiles. Maybe even needed to tell him the truth, because Stiles was right, he couldn't keep telling Stiles the half-truths he deemed fit for his mate. Most the time, Stiles made the better choices, so giving him a choice would be better. Derek's choices were the once messed up, the ones that ended in disaster, while Stiles somehow always chose right. Maybe he would again.

Pulling his phone out, he typed out a quick message – _Deaton went missing. The pack is out searching for him. If you want to, meet me and Peter at the bank. I'm sorry._

/break\

Stiles was busy staring at his phone. More like, glaring at his phone. He had more than two dozen missed calls from about every pack member aside their Alpha. And then that idiot of an Alpha had to send him a text. Sorry. Derek was sorry. Stiles wasn't sure if those words had ever come from their stoic, stubborn, emotionally constipated Alpha before. Getting into his jeep, he listened to some of the voice mails he had gotten from his pack. It did make him smile a little that basically all Betas told him what an idiot Derek could be, rather siding with the human than their Alpha. But he decided not to go to Derek, because he was not crawling back to that sourwolf. If Derek wanted to apologize, he damn well should do it using his voice. Stiles rather found Scott's latest call including a lot of stammering, Lydia and tarot cards, Allison and a closet as well as Chris and a sharp knife far more interesting. Time to save Scott from an overbearing hunter-father.

Saving Scott from Chris would have been entirely more appealing than saving Scott from the wonder twins. By the time Stiles reached their location near the old Hale house, he saw a badly bleeding Aiden laying on the ground, while Ethan had Scott in a tight grip. Chris was hurt too, he couldn't take Ethan out – not without risking also hurting Scott. Stiles gritted his teeth as he pulled out his gun. So much better than a bat. Stiles' scent hit Ethan, alerting the Alpha twin.

"Stiles", growled the taller boy irritated. "Go. Away."

"Yeah, right. With pleasure. Just gonna take that hunter and that Beta with me", chimed Stiles, slowly raising his gun. "So if you'd please let go of him _now_ , that would be lovely."

"None of your business. He's not part of your pack", growled Aiden. "And you wouldn't kill Ethan."

He had liked Allison. Maybe a bit more than had been planned. So when Deucalion had given the twins the clearance to take care of Scott because the boy wasn't part of the Hale pack and thus not one of the Betas that needed to be killed by Derek, Aiden had been a little too eager to track the Omega down. He hadn't anticipated for Scott to be in the company of a trained hunter though.

"That's where you're wrong", stated Stiles with a deadly seriousness in his voice as he pointed the gun at Aiden. "Scott is part of _my_ pack. And I have absolutely no emotional attachment to _you_ , so, Ethan. What's it gonna be? You kill my best friend, I kill your brother? Or do we just walk away?"

Ethan growled a little. He had thought he had charmed his way around Stiles. If he was honest, Stiles had very much charmed his way around Ethan (so he tried not to think how hot a determined Stiles with a gun looked, at least not while that gun was trained on his brother). Gritting his teeth, Ethan tightened his grip on the unconscious Beta's throat.

"You wouldn't do that. You're not a killer", decided Ethan after a beat, looking at his ex-boyfriend.

"You never killed one of my pack-mates before. Don't test it", countered Stiles, eyes flashing.

Chris' eyes widened as he stared at Stiles. The boy's hazel-eyes hadn't just flashed with anger or fury, but they had flashed a clear, shining red. The Alpha-red. Chris had never seen such a thing before. He had heard tales from his father, but always believed it to be a myth. It was too rare a thing to happen – not here in Beacon Hills, not right under his nose. Apparently, Chris wasn't the only one who had seen the flash of red, because it was the one thing convincing Ethan of Stiles' seriousness. Scott was dropped and within moments, the twins vanished with an Alpha's speed.

"Are you alright?", asked Stiles as he put the gun away and walked over to Chris.

"Yes", nodded Chris slowly and stood with Stiles' help. "Nothing serious. We should get Scott to your pack's den though. Derek has something to heal Alpha-wounds, if I recall that right."

Stiles nodded sharply, not replying otherwise. He actually didn't feel like having a run-in with the sourwolf right now. Derek still owed him a _proper_ apology and Stiles didn't give a damn whether or not apologizing was Derek's thing. Together with Chris, he carried Scott over to the Jeep and started driving. Stiles didn't miss the looks Chris gave him and after a while, it started to freak him out.

"What?", asked Stiles unnerved. "It's not the first time you saw me with a gun! You gave it to me!"

"Your eyes", answered Chris slowly, unsure if this was his secret to share, but deciding that Stiles very well had a right to know. "They flashed red when the twin was threatening Scott."

"Red?", echoed Stiles, remembering what he had seen in the motel a few days ago. "No. Can't be."

"You know how an Alpha rises to power, right?", asked Chris rhetorically.

"Sure, a Beta can kill an Alpha and become the Alpha, in return an Alpha can fall to become an Omega yadda-yadda-yadda, the Hales even have a cute symbol just for that", huffed Stiles.

"And you know about werewolf mates", continued Chris, not minding Stiles' mood.

"Sure. Sleeping Beauty over there and your daughter, for example", countered Stiles.

Chris tried not to think about that, not taking the bait and instead focusing on what he had to tell Stiles right now. "Yes. Werewolves can have human mates. A pack normally, traditionally speaking, has two Alphas. The Alpha mates. When an Alpha finds their mate, said mate can rise from a Beta or an Omega to Alpha-status without killing anyone. Just through the mate-bond."

"Okay, didn't know but already figured something like that. Nice talk", nodded Stiles confused.

"Normally, when an Alpha's mate is human, the Alpha turns their mate", continued Chris, still pretty much ignoring Stiles and his input. "It's just too natural for an Alpha to turn his mate. But not all do. Every once in a while, in very rare cases, the Alpha mate remains human. The Alpha pair represent the father and mother of a pack, the protector and the nurturer. If the mate remains human, they still start to develop an Alpha's instincts. The protectiveness over the pack, the urge to care for the Betas. The mate-bond is stronger than human nature and the longer the Bite is put off, the more instincts the human will develop. The more... powers. It's the rarest form of werewolf, because technically, they aren't werewolves. They're human. Human Alphas."

"H—How is that a thing?", asked Stiles, slowly growing nervous, eyes flickering to Chris.

"Their status as the mate of an Alpha fights against their human nature and by sheer force of will, they will rise and grow to become Alphas. Normally, a human is first turned into a werewolf and then rises to become Alpha. But if a human first becomes Alpha and _then_ turns into a wolf, they're known to be the strongest wolves, even rivaling a born Alpha wolf in power", replied Chris.

"B—But... I... That would mean... Wait. _Ethan_?!", yelped Stiles wide-eyed.

"No", grunted Chris, a deadpan expression on his face. "You just flashed your eyes red when protecting one of _your_ Betas and defying Ethan. He's not the Alpha whose mate you are."

The reaction he got was not the reaction he anticipated – but then again, with Stiles it rarely was. The boy started laughing like he had just been told the most ridiculous joke in history.

"I'm not Derek's mate. I've known Derek for nearly two years now and it's been half a year that I joined his pack. He would have tol...", started Stiles before pausing. "He _wouldn't_ have told me."

Chris just looked at the boy, observing the shift in his facial expression.

/break\

Deaton had been in the empty vault where Boyd, Erica and Cora had been held captive. The addition of a ring of mountain ash had made the whole freeing him business a bit harder, but much to Derek's and Peter's relief was the sheriff a far better detective than some liked to give him credit for, so John Stilinski came bursting in and shooting the rope through that had suspended Deaton from the ceiling. The sheriff hadn't even questioned why Derek and Peter were there, still the two Hales took it as their cue to leave when John went to call an ambulance for Deaton. No need to test their luck and come up with an explanation as to how they had found the vet. Derek send a text out to the rest of the pack informing them of Deaton's status and telling them to regroup at the den.

By the time the two oldest Hales entered, the Betas were all already present. Boyd and Erica were curled together on the couch, both facing Cora as Cora and Erica talked to each other, Boyd content with his head resting on Erica's head and his arms around her waist. Jackson and Danny were back to what they had originally done – trying to beat each other in a race-game. Isaac snatched the remote control from Jackson after the other wolf lost, causing the boy to glare and stomp off toward the kitchen, where Lydia and Allison were, next to the coffee-maker and drinking its wondrous gift of warming them up after having spend hours running through the cold for nothing.

"Where are my father and Scott?", inquired Allison sharply as soon as the Alpha entered.

Derek just glared at her. He was so not in the mood to put up with the huntress. Thankfully enough, her question was answered as the door opened again shortly after Derek and Peter had entered. The playful mood between the Betas broke as they could smell Scott's blood. Isaac was the first one out to help Chris and Stiles carrying Scott over to the couch. Allison gasped and rushed over to them, while Lydia disappeared upstairs to get what they needed to treat an Alpha-wound (she started to feel like she was slowly becoming a supernatural nurse of sorts for this pack).

"What happened?", asked Jackson concerned, bringing a bowl of water.

Erica went to fetch some towels to clean Scott's wounds, all eyes on Chris and Stiles, while Allison started patching her father up. Chris settled down on the couch, slowly looking around the room.

"The Alpha twins caught us by surprise. If Stiles wouldn't have come to our rescue – and believe me, that's something I never thought I'd say – I doubt we'd have made it out", answered Chris.

"Well, I was a little peeved that you didn't react to my message first, but now I'm actually glad you didn't and chose Scott", stated Lydia critically, taking care of Scott together with Isaac.

"Ah, Stiles to the rescue. That does seem to be a theme for this pack", joked Peter with a sneer.

"That's why you can't leave!", blurted Isaac out, looking over at Stiles. "We need you, Stiles."

"Need maybe, but apparently not _want_ ", muttered Stiles beneath his breath.

Not that muttering to himself really worked with a room full of werewolves. Danny frowned confused. Stiles had been the one to bring them together, where they had been more like a bunch of patches before, mismatched and not fitting, but then Stiles had stitched them together to fit.

"Don't be a drama-queen, Stiles", chided Lydia and rolled her eyes. "We all know that Derek is not the best with his words, but that doesn't mean you're not wanted here."

"Not what I mean", muttered Stiles and looked up, staring intensely at Derek, like the whole room and world around them was just fading away. " _You_ don't want me. You may be stuck with me, but you don't want me. Y—You... You still should have told me."

"Stiles, what-", started Derek, eyebrows drawn down in confusion.

And then Stiles punched him, hard. Which hurt Stiles entirely more than it hurt Derek, but it was exactly what Stiles needed right then. He glared up at Derek angered, eyes shimmering with tears that he already hated, because he didn't want to cry, he wanted to be angry and violent. But that just wasn't him. Stiles wasn't a violent person, he was an emotional person. The opposite of Derek.

"Stop hitting him! You'll break your fucking hand, Stilinski!", interrupted Jackson irritated.

He grabbed Stiles by the wrists, holding him back. Stiles just glared at Derek fiercely, crying.

"I'm your _mate_ ", spat Stiles, shaking with anger and tears. "You keep pushing me at the center of danger with your stupid half-truths, but _this_ one takes the crown! That's why they're here, isn't it? Not for you. For _me_. That's why the Alpha pack is here, because a human Alpha, now that's something rare and shiny, or what? That's why they moved in next door from _me_ , why Ethan was dating _me_. It's also why the Betas always come to me for help and guidance and all that shit. Not just because you're crappy with emotional stuff, but because I'm their fucking Alpha!"

Everyone could just stare at Stiles, doubtful and confused, but the intense way Stiles eyes flashed as his anger reached a peek – a bright red they had only ever seen on Derek and other Alpha wolves – there was no denying Stiles' words, even though they couldn't truly _understand_ them.

"Is... Is that true?", asked Isaac confused, looking from Stiles to Derek.

There was no hiding anymore, Derek realized. "Yes. It's... true."

"H—How did you never say anything? It's been like two years since you first met us in the woods", grunted Scott as he tried to force himself to sit up. "Ouch. Why wouldn't you say something? I mean, I saw Allison for the first time and I could hardly... uhm... And look at Jackson and Lydia!"

"Worst safe ever, McCall", snickered Jackson and rolled his eyes at the blushing wolf.

"I'm not... good for you, Stiles", replied Derek, looking deep into Stiles' eyes. "Everything I touch _breaks_. Everything good I ever had got taken away from me. I couldn't-"

"You couldn't stop being an idiot", snarled Stiles, baring what looked quite like fangs to the Hale. "Everything you touch breaks? Look at this pack! Look at those broken teens you turned. You _chose_ the broken ones because you were afraid to ruin someone else, but instead you _fixed_ them. Look at Isaac, who hasn't had a home and a family that truly cared for him for far too long. He's _happy_ here, he looks up to you. And Boyd and Erica. Even Jackson stopped being such a gigantic _dick_. And me and Scott, we may not have been broken, but we were complete outcasts, we only had each other and now we have this room right here, filled with all those people, with our pack. Yes, I know that what happened with Paige must have scared you for life and that there are no words to describe what Kate did to you and the whole thing that went down with Jackson didn't do you well and the abduction of Boyd and Erica wasn't really great either. You lost your family because of Kate, yes, but you gained a new one, right here, in this very room. You helped Jackson through and look at him now. You managed to free Boyd and Erica again and they're _here_ and safe. Stop only seeing the bad things in your life, damn it. There are a ton of good things too!"

Jackson had flinched away when Stiles mentioned the kamina situation, leaving the human free to stalk up to Derek. The Alpha wolf took a cautious step back, not wanting for Stiles to hit him again, because that boy was going to break his wrist if he continued doing that. Stiles' words were racing through his head and in a way, Derek saw that the human was right. There were good things in his life. One of them angrily stalking up to him right now. The problem wasn't that he didn't have nice things, the problem was that he didn't get to _keep_ the nice things. Why wouldn't Stiles see that?

"I know there are nice things in my life. But they get crushed by others", whispered Derek. "You're right, this pack has blossomed into something stronger and more beautiful than I would have thought possible. And now the Alpha pack came here to destroy it."

"Oh, stop giving me that bullshit!", huffed Stiles as he had Derek backed up against the wall. "If someone tries to take something good from you, then you damn well fight for it! Tell me, why did you build this pack if you never truly believed that you'd get to keep it?! You wouldn't have! You could have curled together with your tail between your legs if that were true, but it's not. You're a survivor, Derek Hale. You fight. So fight for what you want, fight for the good things in your life. I don't... I don't care if I'm one of them, I don't care if you just don't want me, but don't give up on this pack, because they _need_ you. And I, I need you to be honest with me, just this once, right now."

Derek stared down at Stiles as the boy glared up at him, fingers curled into Derek's shirt, with Derek backed up against the wall. This reminded him of a lot of situations between them, but normally they were the other way around. He couldn't help but get lost in Stiles' eyes as they swirled with so many emotions in that second. This was his mate. This fierce bundle of too many words and too many emotions, the exact opposite of Derek, who never knew how to express his feelings and who never really knew what to do with his words. And once again, Stiles had brought it to the point, had summed up what was going through his head in that moment.

"I do want you", whispered Derek so softly that Stiles could only barely hear it because he stood so close. "You're my mate. You infatuate me and drive me crazy and test my temper and limits. You've always questioned my decisions and my authority. You've always helped me. _You_ are the best thing in my life, which is why I can't even _risk_ losing you."

"Asshole", huffed Stiles, tugging on the shirt he was holding. "You can't risk losing me, so you're not even trying to _have_ me? You know in how much danger I've been since I met you? It won't stop just because we're not dating. It'll also not become increasingly more just because we would be dating, damn it. I've been keeping my own ground in this supernatural world so far, I will keep doing that. But... I can't put up will all of this, if there will still be lies and secrets between us, Sourwolf. I need you to be completely honest with me from now on. Do you want me or not?"

When he looked at Stiles like that, there was absolutely no denying it. He wanted Stiles, he wanted nothing more than he wanted Stiles. This pack was good, it really was his new family and he loved them, wanted to protect them and keep them safe, because they reminded him of what happiness felt like, but it wasn't complete without Stiles. He couldn't risk losing Stiles, he couldn't risk Stiles walking away from this pack and dooming them all, not just himself anymore. He slowly lifted his arms up and rested his hands on Stiles' hips, gently pulling Stiles up to him.

"I want you. I love you", whispered Derek as he sealed Stiles' lips with his own.

Stiles' grasp on Derek's shirt loosened and he rested his hands against the deliciously strong, firm chest, melting into the surprisingly soft kiss and the safe embrace of his silly Sourwolf. Both didn't notice how Lydia and Peter slowly cleared the living room, Peter ushering Isaac, Boyd and Erica upstairs to give their Alphas some privacy and Lydia leading everyone else out of the house.

"I love you too", breathed Stiles against Derek's lips as they parted, cheeks flushed. "So don't... don't push me away again, Derek. Please don't push me away again. I'm here to stay. For this pack and for you, but... you can't continue working against me. You hear me?"

"I'll... try", promised Derek unsure. "I'm just not good at... being happy."

"Don't worry, I'll help you with that", grinned Stiles and leaned up to kiss Derek again.

Derek grunted into the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Stiles' waist. _Maybe_ he could be happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am eternally sorry for how long this chapter took me. It's just... season 4 sucked, in my opinion at least. To me it feels like they're slowly driving this show against the wall and that just entirely threw me off. But then I read about season 5 and how that's going to be even worse (for me), so I sucked it up and got back into this story, because if the writers mess up, fanfiction still can fix it.
> 
> Next chapter will have the revelations about Lydia's powers and who the Darach really is!


	16. Realizations and Revelations

Chapter 15: Realizations and Revelations

"Didn't you say I should cut back on the red meat?"

Stiles grunted confused as he walked downstairs. His father was sticking his head out of the kitchen, looking like a child on Christmas. Sleepily ruffling his hair, Stiles entered the kitchen to find two giant cuts of rip-eye steak laying on the table. They were fine cuts, the really expensive cuts. Stiles frowned. He did not remember buying that, out of previously mentioned reasons.

"Well... I thought we should have a nice dinner together again. We haven't seen much of each other since that whole... killing-spree started", grunted Stiles reluctantly, eying his father.

"I'll be home in time for dinner", promised John, hugging Stiles briefly goodbye.

Sitting down, Stiles watched his father leave. He grabbed the box of curly fries that stood next to the rib-eye steaks and started munching on one. He had gotten home late yesterday, after kissing Derek and spending some time lounging with his Sourwolf on the Hale's bed, Chris and Peter had interrupted them to get them for a pack meeting. Apparently the hunter and the oldest Hale had talked while Stiles and Derek had been busy making out. The revelation of Stiles being a human Alpha and of him being the main target of Deucalion had forced the two men to trade information. So a pack-meeting had been called in to discuss _Deucalion: The Origins_ , as Stiles had dubbed it. Deucalion used to be an understanding and reasonable man before Gerard Argent had taken his eyes, but all of that had started when one of Ennis' Betas had killed a hunter and started what could only be described as a feud between the hunters and the different packs that used to stay in Beacon Hills at the time. Deucalion had been for peace, for talking things out, much like Stiles had tried to pacify between the hunters and the pack. Unlike Chris, his father hadn't been a fan and according to Peter, Gerard Argent had taken Deucalion's eyes and send the Alpha onto a dark path. Needless to say, story-time had taken hours until everything had been revealed. It had been even later when Stiles had finally gotten into bed. There was no way he would have gone out early to buy groceries.

"Good morning, Stiles."

Yelping, he nearly tumbled over with his chair, if not for the Alpha wolf who caught the chair and put it right again, smirking at Stiles amused. Glaring at his Sourwolf, Stiles got up. He rested one hand in the nape of Derek's neck and pulled the man down into a slow and soft kiss. Derek grunted surprised, but he soon laid his arms around Stiles' waist to pull him some closer.

"You brought the steaks", concluded Stiles as they parted, stunned for a moment. "Wait. You bought the steaks and the curly fries. You... Are you _courting_ me, Derek? Like... a wolf? With food?"

"I... uh... felt like I owed it to you. I wasn't behaving proper or good in the past weeks and I figured I'd try to make up for it", shrugged Derek with a frown. "Stop laughing, Stiles."

"S—Sorry", laughed Stiles, gasping for breath. "It's just... You dumb-wolf, we're already dating. You don't need to court me with steak and fries. T—This is... really silly..." Seeing the upset look on Derek's face, Stiles grinned and stopped laughing. "It's silly, but very sweet. Thank you, Derek."

His inner wolf preened at that and Derek himself had to smile a bit too when Stiles leaned in to kiss his cheek. Stiles put the steaks into the fridge and instead got breakfast for them both out while Derek went to make them coffee. For a moment, Stiles thought the rest of the pack would come too, but apparently, Derek wanted to spend some quality time alone with him. Stiles blushed a bit.

"I still can't believe that Deucalion had... hope in humanity...", sighed Stiles confused. "Kind of hard to digest. Then again, Gerard taking his eye-sight and destroying his hope, _that_ I can imagine."

"My mother was... a great Alpha. Everyone came to her for advise, Deucalion, Kali and Ennis included", mused Derek thoughtful, a far-off look on his face. "I wonder if I could ever... be like her. And Alpha so great, other Alphas traveled far and wide to seek help and advise..."

"You're a great Alpha, Sourwolf", chided Stiles with a fond and sincere expression in his eyes as he leaned over to kiss Derek's cheek. "Or at least, you're on your way there. No one can blame you for not starting out as the Alpha of the Year. You got kinda thrust into this mess without too much preparation, but you made the best out of it. Besides, you're not alone. You got me."

Derek looked at Stiles and when he looked at the boy, he could see that Stiles meant it to cheer him up and wasn't even aware of _how true_ it was and _how important_ having Stiles really was to Derek.

"At least we now know who the Darach is after", sighed Stiles after a moment and leaned back to stare at the ceiling. "Not that it narrows anything down, really. Virgins – check, warriors – check, healers – check, philosophers and guardians – to be expected. The Darach is in the lead..."

"We wouldn't have come that far without you", replied Derek, looking Stiles up and down.

"Huh? Chris is the one who deducted that and scribbled us a Celtic knot", disagreed Stiles confused.

"And Chris Argent wouldn't share a _thing_ with the pack if you wouldn't have initiated a truce between him and us", countered Derek, the ghost of a smile on his lips. " _You_ are a great Alpha."

Stiles blushed embarrassed. He was so not used to getting compliments or recognition from Derek. Still, it felt good to know that Derek was on his side and actually valued him. He grinned slightly.

"I... don't trust Deaton", admitted Stiles reluctantly, feeling like Derek would hear him out (finally).

"Why not?", asked Derek curiously, stealing something from Stiles' plate.

"It's just... It's weird", replied Stiles with a frown, shifting in his seat. "Peter told us that Deaton used to be the emissary of your mother. Of the Hale pack. So... why hasn't he come to help you and guide you after Laura's death? As the emissary of the Hale pack, he should have provided guidance or at least offer a bit of advice and truth! Right? He's always been cryptic, right from the start. But that he _never_ came clean in the past year that he used to advise your mother! And it's kind of weird how after he had been saved, it was like the Darach had like a... spare healer, knowing we'd save Deaton. Emissaries are druids. Darachs are dark druids who ventured from their path. Isn't... abandoning the pack you advise kind of... venturing from your path...?"

Derek stared at Stiles with a contemplative look. It felt good to get that off his chest with someone who was open to the idea, because Scott had blocked it from the start. Stiles understood, of course he did. Deaton was the closest thing Scott had to a father-figure.

"Maybe you're right", admitted Derek with a frown. "Or maybe not. He has been helping all of us often too. He could have been more forthcoming, but... mh... We should... watch out, but not limit our concerns to Deaton. I think what troubles me far more than the Darach right now is that thanks to you, two hunters are moving into my house right now."

"Ah. So that's why you're really here", teased Stiles with a grin. "Couldn't stand being alone with Peter and Chris anymore, huh? But well, it's just... safer. The Alphas are on a war-path since Ennis died, they blame us – all of us, because Chris and Allison have been helping you. And they're easy targets right now. After what Peter and Chris told us about the history between the Argents and Deucalion, I just... I think it's safer. At least for a while. Still can't believe you agreed though."

"I didn't have much of a choice", huffed Derek, glaring at Stiles. "You offered it out of the blue with everyone in the room. I could hardly say no. Lydia glared at me and Scott had that hopeful puppy look on his face that's entirely too creepy. That aside... they may be the only... bearable Argents."

/break\

Chris looked suspiciously around as he sat at the table, nursing his second cup of black coffee. Not that he had slept at all last night. The hunter inside of him didn't sit well with sleeping in a house full of wolves. Two of them Hales, who had been feuding with the Argents for too long to recall.

That was probably ungrateful of him. When they had returned home and found the mark of the Alphas on the door to their new – and still undecorated – apartment, he knew they were in danger. It was only logical that at some point, Deucalion would acknowledge them. He and Allison were the closest Deucalion could get to getting revenge for what Gerard had done to him years ago. He appreciated that Stiles cared enough to offer safety and he _was_ grateful that Derek had offered them a place to stay, at least for now. It was still against his long-trained instincts though. Yet even more than that, it rubbed him the wrong way that he was currently living with Peter.

He silently observed how Boyd, Erica, Cora, Isaac and Allison got ready and left for school – the girls getting into Lydia's and the boys climbing into Jackson's car as the two rich children came to pick their pack-mates up. Allison was talking lightly to Erica. Over the past weeks, they had managed to get over what had happened when Gerard had brainwashed Allison and – with some urging from Stiles – realizing that Gerard had done a number on all of them, Allison included.

"Never thought my daughter's happiness would lay with wolves", whispered Chris wistfully.

Peter, the only one left in the kitchen and the house, turned to look at Chris quizzically. "Well, your daughter is a wolf's mate, she befriended those kids before they were involved with wolves. It's destiny, I guess. You seem less bothered by her relationship with Scott."

"She's his mate, as you pointed out", sighed Chris, lifting his gaze to look at the other man. "I thought if I stood between them, I could stop the bond from... from forming, or something. I guess this mate-bond is stronger than I thought. And if Scott makes her happy, if Scott can protect her... All I ever wanted for her was a normal life. After everything that happened, I don't think 'normal' will ever apply to us, but I do think that this... pack... they're friends for her and they make her as happy as this supernatural world can allow for a huntress."

Peter nodded slowly. This was the most Chris had said to him ever since Chris had returned to Beacon Hills. There was a hopeful flutter in Peter's chest, a strange sensation and weird warmth.

"You married vain Vicky", stated Peter, feeling bold and like this was his window of opportunity.

"Don't call her that", warned Chris with a glare, yet also with the faintest amusement. "No one called her that since high school. Besides... she... she's dead. You shouldn't talk like that about the dead. She was a strict but good woman. I don't regret marrying her, if only for Allison's sake." Chris paused, looking Peter up and down. "It's... not like I forgot about you, Peter. I sat at your bedside for a whole week and nothing changed. You were unconscious and didn't heal at all. I thought this was it. You were gone, all that was left was... was an empty shell."

Peter averted his eyes. He hadn't known that. He had been completely out for weeks. Still, Chris had moved on from him. Chris wasn't a wolf, he would never understand. How could he, after all. He's never understand how much looking at Allison hurt Peter, because she was the living proof that his mate had been with another, had sworn an oath to share their life with another than him. Why, he had a feeling that today was just going to be absolutely brilliant.

/break\

Tara was dead. One of the deputies he had grown up around was laying sliced open on the school sign. How was Stiles supposed to function when people _he_ cared about died? First Heather, his old childhood friend, now one of his old babysitters. Was the Darach trying to be possible? Or was Stiles being paranoid now? It couldn't be possible that both magical villains were after _him_ , right? Guardians – like Tara, like... his father. It was time to tell his father the truth, the _full_ truth, because otherwise his father was in danger and _his father couldn't be in danger_.

"I need you there with me", pleaded Stiles through the phone. "I just... I need a wolf to prove it."

" _I'll be there_ ", promised Derek gruffly. "Y _ou make the steaks, I'll come over for dinner._ "

"Thanks, Sourwolf", smiled Stiles strained. "See you tonight, before the memorial concert."

So Stiles went to prepare dinner. He knew it was inevitable to tell his father at this point. It would do more harm if John didn't know. That didn't change the heavy, tight feeling in his stomach though. Being pulled into this supernatural mess was dangerous. He didn't want his father in danger.

"Is Scott coming over?", asked his father curiously as he returned home from his shift.

"Ah. No. Uhm...", started Stiles awkwardly, shifting a bit. "My... uh... Why don't you take a seat?"

John frowned confused as he sat down. There was a chessboard set out on the table, together with the three plates. While Stiles was still working on the steaks, John took a closer look. There were little differently colored post-its sticking to the figures, labeling them.

"Stiles... what is a... kanima?", inquired John, turning the figure in his hand.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Stiles started explaining everything to his father while simultaneously cooking dinner. He worked better when he was multitasking and while cooking, he didn't have to watch his father's face and how he turned more and more disbelieving. He vividly remembered how Melissa had reacted when she had first learned about werewolves. He told his father everything – about Peter, how Scott got turned, who else were werewolves, why Boyd and Erica had disappeared and what had happened to all the Argents who seemed to die around here. Everything. The chess-pieces served as help here. The white ones were their pack – labeled with the names of everyone. Derek was the white king, the Betas were pawns, their two Argents the knights. The black ones were labeled with their enemies – the Alpha-pack, Gerard, Victoria, Kate, the kamina, Matt. He talked and talked and talked and kept glancing at his phone and the door. Where was Derek? He had promised to be there and by now, dinner was already getting cold. Stiles had a plan. He had planned to tell his father during dinner, have Derek wolf-out and be done with it. But without proof? Without his wolf to show that wolves were real? It all sounded like some weird fairy tale.

By the time his father left, not believing a word his son had said, obviously disappointed in Stiles for the things he had come up with, Stiles' phone buzzed. He buried his face in his hands in utter frustration. A text from Derek – _Cora is in hospital. Can't make it. Sorry_. Now he couldn't even vent by being angry at Derek, because Cora was his sister and if something happened to her, after the last time Derek had lost a sister, Stiles knew it would destroy Derek.

"Hey, Sourwolf", whispered Stiles tired as he called his boyfriend. "How's your sister?"

" _Throwing up mistletoe_ ", was Derek's grim reply. " _And... your father? How did he take it?_ "

"Like he's short of sending me to Eichen House", chuckled Stiles with dark humor. "He's not believing a word I said and I'm just... I'm frustrated. I know... mom would have believed me."

There was a stretch of silence between the two young men who had lost their mothers who had been like guardian angels to them far too early. Still, even in the silence, Stiles found comfort. Or maybe especially in the silence. After all, Derek was a master of silence and with the time, Stiles had learned to interpret the different kinds of silences. This one was comforting.

" _I'm sorry_ ", said Derek after a while. " _For not having been there and for your father not believing you. And I know you probably have different plans for tonight – involving the chocolate-chip mint ice-cream in your freezer – but I can't... I can't leave Cora today and I don't want the Betas on this concert alone. With the recent murder in the school, I don't want them Alpha-less._ "

Stiles frowned and put the pot of ice-cream back into the freezer. Right now he felt like skipping the stupid memorial concert, but Derek was right. With how much the Alpha-twins and certain members of their pack edged on, Stiles didn't want them unsupervised tonight. And this gathering was a good hunting ground for their Darach. Hunting the bad guy sounded like a good distraction.

"I'm on my way", sighed Stiles and grabbed his red leather jacket. "Take... care of your sister."

/break\

Jackson frowned displeased, legs stretched out in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. Stiles was sitting on one side of him, while he was saving the seat on his other side for Lydia. She and Allison had ducked out to head to the toilets before the concert started. Not that Jackson would ever understand that need to go to the toilet in pairs. Women. But he didn't even have his best friend with him right now, because Danny was part of this concert. Jackson's eyes wandered over to where Isaac was busy fussing over Danny, straightening his bowtie and looking all the part of the worried lover. Couples. He wasn't one to talk, he had been told (by Stiles, most of the time) that him and Lydia were the same, but that was completely different. Not because Danny and Isaac were gay, but because Danny was neglecting _him_ for the sake of his partner and that was so not okay. Danny liked to say it was sweet payback for all the times Jackson had chosen Lydia over him. Again, couples. And now he was stuck on this lame concert and had to act interested for Danny's sake while he didn't even get some kind of praise for being around, because Danny's attention was all on Isaac. The idiot was so proud to get a chance to show off to Isaac now. Young love. So weird. Had he been as embarrassing when he had been new in his relationship with Lydia?

"Can you look any more bored, Jackson?", grunted Stiles next to him, elbowing him.

"I don't know. Let me try", replied Jackson, making a face. "Mh, no. More bored is not possible."

"You're such an ass", huffed Stiles and rolled his eyes. "We're not here for the concert. Well, we are, because we're proud of Danny and all. But we're mainly here to look for the Darach."

Like Jackson didn't know that. Boyd and Erica had only gotten out of this because they had the tightest bond with Cora and had been with her when she had collapsed so they were in the hospital with Peter and Derek. The others were on Darach duty tonight. He really hoped they'd get some kind of action tonight – and if not, he at least hoped Lydia would let him get some kind of action after this was over. And he couldn't even play Angry Birds until this was over because he had apparently lost his phone in the crowd on his way in. Just his kind of luck.

/break\

Lydia re-applied her lipstick, chancing a glance at her phone. Jackson had send her a text to meet her in their English literature classroom. It wasn't the most creative place they had done it in, but there was a nice kind of humor in doing it in the classroom of the teacher organizing this little concert. Mention of exactly that had gotten Allison off her back. Due to their high alert situation, Stiles had insisted that everyone should at the very least stay in pairs. She assured Allison that with Jackson, she'd be in a pair. Allison agreed to return to Stiles, Isaac and Scott, if only to avoid having to watch her best friend make out with Jackson. Lydia smirked to herself as she sauntered along the dark halls and toward Miss Blake's classroom, expecting to find her ever-horny boyfriend there.

Everything happened entirely too fast for Lydia to properly process it. Jackson wasn't there, but Miss Blake was. But Miss Blake was _not_ the nice, normal teacher. Instead of a scolding for sneaking around, Lydia was smacked down. She could hardly sort her thoughts by the time Miss Blake was tying her to a chair, thin string too close to Lydia's neck for comfort. Sure, Blake was babbling on and on about sacrifices and how she was doing everything because she had to and because she did the right thing to defend herself against the Alphas, but Lydia knew that wasn't true.

"...You however, you're not a sacrifice. You're just a girl that knows too much", whispered Blake with a sickening smile on her lips as she tightened the string around Lydia's neck. "Well, knew..."

And Lydia screamed – screamed like she had never screamed before in her entire life.

/break\

Multiple things were making Stiles nervous. Aside from the hole in the pit of his stomach that had been there since his father had left the house without much to say and the fact that his boyfriend's sister was in some kind of life-threatening danger, something else was unsettling him too. And it wasn't even the weird chanting. Okay, the longer Danny and the other musicians kept going and the louder and creepier it got, the more it unsettled Stiles too. The fact that Lydia was missing and Jackson had no idea where she was – even though Allison had said she wanted to meet him. The tension build up in the room for the final show-down as a string from the piano broke and sliced the teacher's throat clear through. The dropping of the body was accompanied by an ear-shattering screech – so high-pitched that all wolves in the room covered their ears instantly. Not natural.

"We need to find Lydia", declared Stiles and jumped off his chair. " _Now_."

Allison, Scott, Isaac and Jackson were fast to follow his command. In the following mass-hysteria, they were joined by a concerned and very winded-up Danny. They split up – Allison and Scott took the field outside, Isaac and Danny covered one corridor, Jackson and Stiles the other.

/break\

Part of Lydia was simply relieved when the string around her neck loosened, another part was freaked out because this was only avoiding the inevitable. And the third part just really didn't want to hear another one of Jennifer Blake's monologues. They were nearly worse than the strangulation.

"You have no idea what you are, do you?", asked Jennifer, sounding in total awe. "A wailing woman. A banshee. You're just like me. Look like the innocent flower, but the serpent under it."

"We are _nothing_ alike", pressed Lydia out from a hurt throat.

"It's too late now", declared Blake impassively as she pulled out a knife.

"Drop it!", was screamed right into her face as the sheriff pointed his gun at her.

But before Jennifer had the chance to properly act, a werewolf barked into the room. Jackson attacked her viciously, filled with the anger of seeing his mate laying on the ground, hurting. Sheriff Stilinski was trying to shoot her, but she healed before his eyes and closed in on him. Stiles, who had been paired with Jackson in their search, could only helplessly watch as he had been locked out of the room by Blake. She bent John's shield and took him, vanishing out the window like they had never been there to begin with. Jackson was gathering himself and opening the door, letting Stiles in. He cautiously helped Lydia up, checking for worse injuries than the bruising around her neck.

"She... She took my father...", whispered Stiles hoarsely, staring out the window.

/break\

The scream that ripped through the night was inhuman and Derek knew it meant trouble. He turned to glance at his three Betas, who were lining up beside Cora's bed. Boyd and Erica exchanged a confused look while Derek fixed Peter with a serious glare while getting his phone out.

" _Derek_!" Stiles' voice was panicked and confused and hurt and Derek stood upright instantly.

"Stiles. What's wrong? Are you hurt? Where are you?", asked Derek, eyes flashing red.

Stiles stammered, like he didn't know how to be coherent anymore, like he lost the ability to keep it together and if that didn't make Derek panic, he didn't know what would. Stiles easily grew hysteric, that was just how Stiles worked. But he didn't flat-out panic. He kept a cool head, figured out solutions to the problems and situations they were stuck in. He didn't just crumble.

" _It's Blake. She's the Darach. And she took the sheriff_ ", supplied Isaac's voice a moment later.

" _And she tried killing Lydia!_ ", added Jackson loudly and viciously.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze for Derek. His eyes were fixed on his sister, pale and covered in sweat, the mess of black goo she had thrown up still beside the bed. But his ears were trained on the short-coming breath of his mate on the other end of the line. Derek had Cora and Peter and right now there was nothing he could do for his sister. Stiles only had his father and no one else. Right now, he was needed at his mate's side, not at his sister's. He could only helplessly sit here and watch how Cora's condition worsened, while there was still a chance to find the sheriff.

"I'm on my way. I'll meet you at the house. Make sure to stick together", ordered the Alpha, ending the call and turning to his uncle and the other two Betas. "You're in charge here. Boyd, Erica, stay with Cora and Peter, inform me if anything happens or changes. Protect Cora if someone comes after you here. If we need backup, I'll call you, so be prepared."

/break\

Chris' life was taking one wrong turn after the other. He had to admit that Jennifer Blake was beautiful, she was a sophisticated woman. He couldn't deny he had been drawn to her. It wasn't like they were in a relationship, it had just been a drunk one-night-stand after a chance-meeting at a bar and a short-lived conversation about adult-things (only being around wolves and teenagers made him crave the intelligent conversation with an adult). After the year he has had, he deserved the relief of simple sex without strings attached. It figured that he couldn't even have that.

He had returned to the apartment to get something he had forgotten when Allison called him and informed him of what had happened on the concert. When Chris reached the apartment, he found a distressed Jennifer at his door, trying to convince him she had to tell him something before the kids would give him a false impression. The nerve of this woman, that she thought he would take her word over that of his daughter. It was a good thing he still had his weapons everywhere.

"T—They already told you", gasped Jennifer as she found herself in a headlock, gun at her temple.

"They did", agreed Chris, gritting his teeth. "And we are going to meet them now."

/break\

"It's alright. It will be alright. We will find him."

Derek had been over within minutes, even before his pack. The wait was unnerving. Hearing Stiles so distressed riled his inner wolf up. He needed to see Stiles, to make sure his mate was alright. Of course he wasn't. His only family had been abducted by a supernatural serial-killer.

Allison was taking care of Lydia and Jackson, being the best at first-aid-situations. Scott, Isaac and Danny were pacing the room nervously. Scott – of all people – was talking to Chris on the phone. And Stiles? Stiles was nestled against Derek's chest, breath heaving as he clung to his Sourwolf.

"W—We _have_ t—to... have to stop h—her...", sobbed Stiles.

"And we will", promised Derek, caressing Stiles' back soothingly. "But... and I know this is hard for you right now, you need to focus. We need you if we want to find her and stop her, Stiles. Your father needs you to get a grip. I know it's hard, _I know_ , but I also know you can do it."

There were things Stiles could do. Things like making Derek talk. Derek wasn't good with these emotional situations, but he knew that Stiles needed him right now and he could not possibly sit it out and hope it'd go away. Stiles was making Derek a better person, not just a better Alpha. Stiles held them together, Stiles figured out solutions, Stiles calmed them. So if they needed a solution while Stiles was completely broken down, they needed Derek to fix him again. This was what a pack did, this was what mates did for each other. He cupped Stiles' cheeks, brushing the tear-strains away and getting lost in the hazel orbs for just a moment before he leaned down and kissed his mate soothingly. He could feel Stiles' heart-rate slowing down, calming down.

Good. This was good. Because, as harsh as it sounded even to Derek, they couldn't worry about Stiles right now. They had to worry about his father. Now that they knew who the Darach was, they actually could stop all of this. They just needed to find Jennifer Blake and end it all.

A knocking on the door interrupted the moment and Derek unwillingly so tore his gaze off his mate, observing how Scott rushed over to open the door. Sounds of shuffling and struggle followed and moments later did Chris Argent enter the room, in his grip a less than pleased English teacher.

"Did someone order a Darach?", asked the hunter gruffly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will delve into 3x10 "The Overlooked" and 3x11 "Alpha Pact" - meaning we get a little show-down between Alphas and Hale Pack, but we'll also have some focus on Cora and how I'm gonna resolve that while keeping Alpha!Derek in the game~ also, h/c!Sterek, obviously


End file.
